Alphabet Soup
by kirayasha aka kira
Summary: Collection of 26 Jakotsucentric challenge fics. They can either be set in the feudal era or modern times. The idea is based off of Killa Kay's Gravitations short stories called A to Z. *Winner for best Yaoi at the Feudal Association* Slowly being revised.
1. A is for Adoration

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _is based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section.) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! *glomps you*_

_Thanks also to Sarga for helping me revise this! *loves you*_

_FYI: Kuma ken is a game similar to "rock, paper, scissors" and it's believed that it the forerunner of that game. _

_888_

"**A" is for Adoration **

Renkotsu sipped his sake, half paying attention to the story Mukotsu was telling about some woman who actually kissed him. As the diminutive poisoner droned on about his only conquest, the fire-breather watched the cross-dresser make ox-eyes at their leader. He nearly laughed out loud at an inopportune moment in Mukotsu's story, when Jakotsu let out a soft sigh like a lovesick girl. What he found even funnier was the fact that Bankotsu seemed completely unaware of it. Then again half the girls in the village behaved in exactly the same way as Jakotsu whenever Bankotsu was close by, so he figured their leader was probably immune to it. Chuckling softly, it was several minutes before he realized Suikotsu was speaking to him.

"I'm sorry, Sui, I wasn't listening," Renkotsu admitted sheepishly.

"I could see that. What I had asked you before was 'what're you looking at?'"

"Oh..." Renkotsu smiled. "I was just watching Jak make ox-eyes at Ban again. Give him enough sake and he can put the village girls to shame. I'm having a hard time keeping myself from laughing."

The claw-bearer smiled. "He does adore him, doesn't he?"

"Who adores who?" Bankotsu said as he came over to them for some more sake. He sat while he waited for Suikotsu refilled his cup.

"Jak adores you," Renkotsu said.

"What?!" their young leader sputtered.

"Jak adores you. Look at him, he's making ox-eyes at you the same as every girl in the village does," Renkotsu stated matter-of-factly.

"Ren's right, Oo-Aniki, he's been doing it as long as I've known you two."

"He has...?" Bankotsu stole a quick glance at the cross-dresser and he winced when Jakotsu waved shyly back at him. "Oh..."

"Yeah," Renkotsu said smugly. "It must be nice to have all the girls think you're wonderful."

Bankotsu blushed profusely.

"Ren," Suikotsu said warningly in response to the nasty glare Bankotsu shot the second-in-command as the doctor handed their leader his cup.

Still, the way the sixteen year old had blushed, made it was clear he was having similar feelings towards the cross-dresser. Bankotsu looked away and took a big gulp of his sake to hide his embarrassment. It tickled the back of his throat as it went down and he coughed into the back of his hand while the claw-bearer gently patted him on the back.

"Are you okay, Aniki-chan?" Jakotsu asked. He got up, moving closer to him.

Bankotsu blushed even more at the concerned looks the cross-dresser sent his way and Renkotsu's soft chuckling only increased his discomfiture.

"He's fine, Jak," Suikotsu assured him. "Oo-Aniki swallowed the wrong way and it made him cough."

"Oh..." The cross-dresser smiled. "Don't worry, Aniki-chan, you'll be okay."

The claw-bearer smiled as he looked from one to the other. _As fine as he's ever going to be if what I suspect is true, and judging by the way Ren is suddenly interested in the garden, I think Ren is thinking the same thing I am. Oo-Aniki, why don't you admit it to yourself, if not to everyone else, that you adore Jak just as much as he does you? It's becoming painfully obvious right now how much you do; in fact I wonder why none of us saw it before. _

"Yeah..." Bankotsu choked out as Jakotsu took over patting his back.

"Uh, Jak...?" Renkotsu prompted, holding his sake cup out, for a refill.

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu replied while he fussed over Bankotsu.

"Where'd you two get the sake from?" The fire-breather took a sip when Suikotsu handed his cup back.

"The daimyo gave it to us," the cross-dresser informed them with a sigh.

"Yeah? What happened?"

"Nothing..." Bankotsu mumbled.

"Nothing?" Jakotsu blinked. "Aniki-chan, you were amazing!"

"No, I wasn't..."

"Oh yes you were!" Jakotsu playfully wagged his finger at him. "Ren, you should have seen him!" the cross-dresser gushed.

"I wish I had."

"It was..." The cross-dresser frowned as he tried to find the words to describe it.

"Incredible?" Renkotsu prompted.

"In-what?" Jakotsu stared blankly at the fire-breather.

"Amazing..."

"Oh... Yes! You should have seen him, Ren! This huge youkai-"

"It wasn't that big, Jak," Bankotsu, embarrassed, denied.

"Oh yes it was! Ren, it flew up out of the ground and towered over us!"

"It was as tall as you are, Ren," Bankotsu said softly, before taking another sip of his sake.

"Yeah?" Renkotsu questioned in amazement.

"Yeah!!" the cross-dresser excitedly replied. "I remember turning around and I thought I was going to die!" Setting his sake cup down, he clasped his hands to his chest. "The daimyo practically shit in his hakama too!" Jakotsu laughed.

Renkotsu laughed along with his friend, the faintest hint of a smirk tugging at his lips, when he caught sight of how Bankotsu seemedto melt into the veranda floor.

"Anyway, just when it looked like I was about to get eaten by that youkai, Aniki-chan leapt up and sliced its head off!! It was so incregetable!!" Jakotsu sighed again like a lovesick girl and there was no mistaking the look of adoration in his eyes.

Bankotsu turned an even darker shade of red as he tried to hide behind the cask of sake without seeming to do so.

"Oh, it must have been, eh, Sui?" Renkotsu took a sip of his sake to hide his smirk.

The claw-bearer smiled as he eyed their leader out the corner of his eye. "Most definitely. And I'm sure there have been times when you've saved Oo-Aniki's life too, Jak."

"I don't think so...?" The cross-dresser nibbled daintily on a fingernail as he thought it over.

"Yes, you have," Bankotsu contradicted softly.

"When, Oo-Aniki?"

"So Jak actually saved your life, hunh?" Renkotsu drawled.

"Yeah..." Bankotsu repeated as he scooted out from behind the sake cask.

"What?" Mukotsu asked as he came over and sat down. Holding out his cup, Jakotsu refilled it for him.

"Apparently, Jak has saved Ban's life, although he can't remember it happening," Ren said. "Jak had just finished telling us about their latest mission and how Ban saved his life when Ban brought it up."

"Aah... Interesting, interesting... So how did it happen, Oo-Aniki?"

Bankotsu shifted uncomfortably as he thought about how to begin. It was bad enough when he had three expectant faces looking intently at him, but now he had everyone when Ginkotsu and Kyokotsu finished their game of kuma ken and came over to sit down as well.

"I guess you can start now, Ban," Renkotsu prompted.

"Yeah..." Their leader took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, it happened a while ago when it was just the two us. We used to roam from village to village looking for work." Bankotsu paused to take a sip of his sake as Jakotsu sighed. "Well, we stayed at this one village for a while as there was plenty to do from killing youkai to keeping the bandits at bay."

"That's right!" Jakotsu interrupted to add his own recollections about it. "It was in the middle of nowhere with lots of forest all around it and there were mountains too."

Bankotsu nodded. "Some gang of thieves thought it was the perfect place to use as a base for their activities as they would be blamed on the youkai in the area. After being there for a while we got to know some of the people living there."

"Oh yeah..." Jakotsu said testily.

"Err...yeah. Well, umm... it's not that great a story," Bankotsu finished lamely.

"No?" Ren asked as he quirked an eyebrow at their leader. "It started off good. So what happened?"

"Nothing..."

"Nothing? You molest the headman's daughter and you call it nothing?" Jakotsu demanded incredulously.

"I didn't molest her!!"

"No...? Then why did her father say you did?!"

"Because she probably wanted a husband and told her father we nookied!"

Renkotsu chuckled as he leaned towards Suikotsu. He whispered, "Heh! It seems like the mutual adoration society has come to an inglorious end."

"It would seem so, but looks can be deceiving, Ren," the claw-bearer whispered back.

"True..."

"Okay, okay... Oo-Aniki may or may not have molested this girl," Mukotsu said as he ignored the argument. "But what did you do to save his life, Jak?"

"I ummm..."

Bankotsu and Jakotsu exchanged glances while everyone waited for the story to continue.

"He ummm..."

"What?" Mukotsu asked.

"Jak pretended to be my...wife..." Bankotsu whispered the word "wife."

"That's right!" The cross-dresser's mood brightened, having remembered what had happened. "It was so much fun!"

"Yeah?"

"Yup! I was so scared he'd kill Aniki-chan and I'd wind up back in the bathhouse, or worse, that I told him we had just gotten married and we were trying to get some money so that we could build a nice little house somewhere and since he saw me flirting with some village boys, he believed it."

"But how did explain your flirting?"

Jakotsu daintily sipped his sake. "I told him I thought Aniki-chan would pay more attention to me if he was jealous. And when he asked why my new husband wasn't doting on me as I was such a pretty girl, and I told him I was with child and afraid to nookie."

Everyone except Bankotsu roared with laughter.

"So we stayed there for a couple of days before we left to go on to the next village, and that was how I saved Aniki-chan's life..." Jakotsu sighed.

"Who'd have thought that the great Bankotsu had his life saved once... and by a girl of all things?" Renkotsu smirked.

The cross-dresser rolled his eyes as Bankotsu tried to hide in plain sight. Smiling sweetly, Jakotsu said softly, "I'm glad I did it..."

Bankotsu blushed as he looked up shyly at the cross-dresser. "Yeah...?"

"Yeah..." he replied and there was no mistaking the look of adoration in his eyes that was mirrored in Bankotsu's own.

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "B" for Bare.**_


	2. B is for Bare

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _is based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section.) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_Special thanks to Sarga fro helping me go back and revise this. *huggles*_

"**B" is for Bare**

Jakotsu giggled as Bankotsu backed him up against the outer wall of the eastern side of the mansion. Earlier, the Shichinintai had taken possession of the mansion for the night and after making sure they were the only ones around, they had spent the evening celebrating by drinking the former daimyo's sake. Bankotsu had been talked into taking over said daimyo's rooms for the night and so that he would not feel lonely Jakotsu had volunteered to stay with him to keep him company. Since they were now away from the others, not to mention pleasantly drunk, Bankotsu pursued the cross-dresser with the same enthusiasm he would have had for any village girl.

Jakotsu giggled again as his leader ran his hand up his bare left thigh, his rough calloused palm tickling the cross-dresser as he went higher and higher. "Oo-Aniki..." he moaned softly as Bankotsu trailed a line of kisses down his neck to the hollow of his throat. "Let'sgoinside..." he said, breathlessly slurring his words together.

Bankotsu murmured something unintelligible into the tiny bit of bare skin, peeking out of the cross-dresser's kimono at the base of the cross-dresser's throat. Pulling reluctantly away from Jakotsu, he grabbed the cross-dresser's hand and dragged him inside. "Wait..." Bankotsu said as he searched the room for the daimyo's futon and bedding. After what seemed to take forever, the fifteen year old found it and quickly unrolled it, before leading Jakotsu over to it.

The cross-dresser sat back on his heels like a woman, on top of the futon. He closed his eyes, and licking his lips in anticipation of the fun he was about to have with Bankotsu. He was rather disappointed when his leader knelt behind him. Jakotsu hated having his leader there as it reminded him of his days spent as a bathhouse whore. Many of his customers had preferred to take him that way as it helped preserve the illusion that he was a woman. When Bankotsu planted soft butterfly kisses on the back of his neck, he felt his worst fears confirmed.

The mood broken, at least for him, Jakotsu pleaded softly, moving his hand up to block him, "Please, Oo-Aniki..."

"Hmmm...?" Bankotsu paused as the cross-dresser heaved a tiny sigh of relief.

"I don't like it when you do that..." the cross-dresser whispered.

"Why not?"

"Because..." Jakotsu trailed off, unable to bare his soul as Bankotsu pushed the lavender kimono off his shoulder, baring the pale flesh.

"Are you hurt?" Bankotsu asked, the concern he felt for the cross-dresser clearly heard in his voice.

"No..."

"Then what's wrong, Jakotsu?"

Jakotsu nibbled daintily on a fingernail as he struggled to find the words. The pleasant glow he had felt from the sake and the excitement of being with Bankotsu was rapidly fading along with the mood.

"Jakotsu...?"

"Ummm..."

Bankotsu scooted around to face him. "Jakotsu...? Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Yeah..." The cross-dresser felt his eyes welling up with tears and he hastily rubbed under them.

"Don't cry...Jak..." Bankotsu said gently as he reached up to wipe away a stray tear.

The cross-dresser nodded as more tears spilled down his cheeks.

Bankotsu, sobering up in the face of his third-in-command's distress, pulled him close. As Jakotsu cried softly on his shoulder, Bankotsu gently rubbed circles on his back.

"I hate being kissed like that..." the cross-dresser admitted softly when he had calmed down enough to speak.

"Okay... Then I won't do it anymore if it bothers you."

"Thanks..." Jakotsu murmured into his leader's shoulder. "It's just that it reminds me too much of the bathhouse..."

"Yeah...? I didn't know that," Bankotsu replied.

The cross-dresser hiccupped. "You kiss girls like that. And ummm...most of my ummm... my clients wanted a girl."

"Oh... But why? You were a lot of fun."

"I was? Thank you... I thought you were cute and I tried extra hard to make it nice for you..."

"Well, I appreciate the effort. It was really sweet of you to go out of your way like that and for a complete stranger too."

"Yeah...?"

"Yeah. You're really sweet, you know?"

"So are you..."

Bankotsu smiled as he rested his face against the top of Jakotsu's head. "Thanks..."

"You're welcome..."

"Can I call you 'Sweetness'?"

"If you want to..." Jakotsu smiled. "And can I call you 'Dumpling'?"

"Dumpling?"

"Yeah... You're calling me something cute, and besides, they're my favorite food..." The cross-dresser giggled.

"If you must..." Bankotsu sighed.

"I'll only call you that when we're alone, okay? Otherwise I'll call you... Ummm.... Aniki-chan!"

"Okay."

A brief silence stretched between them as Jakotsu worked up the courage to bare his soul to his friend. Having a pet name for each other helped as he was beginning to think Bankotsu had similar feelings for him. And yet, he still had a few nagging doubts. Taking a deep breath, he opened up a bit more, by saying softly, "Anyway, I know I dress and act like a girl, but..."

"But you like being a boy."

"Yeah... and when I, ummm..."

"What?" Bankotsu gently prompted. He found it hard to believe the cross-dresser was opening up to him like this, and laying his soul bare before him. The intimacy of such an act both frightened and excited him.

"When I nookie, it's nice to know the person I'm nookying wants me to be a boy..."

"Oh..."

"Yeah... and I'm also afraid..." Jakotsu swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat.

"Of what...?"

"Oh, nothing..."

Bankotsu sighed when the cross-dresser grew quiet. He was upset that Jakotsu had stopped baring his soul, as he was enjoying getting to know him better, so he took a deep breath and said, "I get scared too sometimes."

"Yeah...?"

"Yup. Scared that I can't do this and that one day everyone's going to wake up and decide they'd rather have a man lead them than a boy."

"But you're a great leader, Aniki-chan! I would follow you anywhere!"

"You would, Jakotsu?"

"Yup!" The cross-dresser's smile suddenly faded. "Aniki-chan...?"

"Yeah...?"

"I'm afraid too... Afraid, that if I fell in love with you, you'd leave me..." the cross-dresser said so softly Bankotsu was not sure he had heard him correctly.

"You're afraid of falling in love with me?"

"No, no, no..." Jakotsu pulled away from him and sat up. He reached out and cupped Bankotsu's cheek. "I'm afraid that if ..." the cross-dresser paused, the fear of completely baring his soul, making his heart beat wildly. When Bankotsu smiled, he found the courage to go on. "I'm afraid that if I fall in love with you, you won't like me any more and you'd leave me..." he admitted softly.

Bankotsu was stunned by that little revelation.

"You see?" Jakotsu pointed out bitterly. "This was what I was afraid of..." He turned away as he started to cry again.

"No, that's not it... I ummm... I just didn't know what to say. I mean it's one thing for some stupid girl to say it, but another thing when your best friend tells you that. You know you're my best friend, right?"

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu asked as he wiped away his tears.

"Yeah... I mean I kinda like you too..." Bankotsu said softly, baring his soul in the same way Jakotsu had just done. "You're really sweet and to tell the truth, much better fun than a girl. And you know more stuff too."

"I do?" Jakotsu blinked.

"Uh hunh... Really fun stuff and you're not afraid to do it," Bankotsu quickly assured him.

Jakotsu smiled. "I'm being stupid, hunh?"

"Nah... You're not being stupid; you're being cute. And ummm... smart."

"Smart?" The cross-dresser blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, my father once said the smartest thing you can do is find someone you can trust and really rely on. And you know you've found that person when you can open up to them and bare your soul to them."

"Oh... Then you're very smart too, Oo-Aniki! But then I always knew that." Jakotsu smiled.

"Okay... now that we both know we're smart..." They both laughed when Bankotsu said that. "Ummm... what do you want to do?"

"Ummm... kissing you sounds like fun to me..." Jakotsu murmured as he leaned towards his young leader.

"Yeah..." Bankotsu relied just as softly. He imagined was Jakotsu sitting bare-naked in front of him and all the fun that would lead to.

Jakotsu kissed him, chastely at first and when Bankotsu deepened it, the cross-dresser responded in kind. They let their hands wander slowly as they took the time to savor the moment and enjoy the feel of a rough hand on smooth bare flesh. As they lay there, entwined in each other's arms, they came to the realization that this time was all the better for having laid their souls bare before hand...

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "C" is for Cats.**_


	3. C is for Cats

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _is based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section.) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: A bakeneko is a cat in Japanese folklore with supernatural abilities similar to a fox's or raccoon dog's. They are said to come from normal cats that live to be a certain age, grow to a certain size, or be allowed to keep a long tail. If the tail gets too long and forks, the cat is called a nekomata. Since they can cause a lot of trouble for people, having a cat as a pet would be discouraged. This legend is said to have led to the breed of cat known as the Japanese bobtail which was loved and adored by its owners._

_Oneesan means "older sister" or "Miss?"_

_Once again, I want to the thank Sarga for all her help in fixing this up. *huggles*_

"**C" is for Cats**

Jakotsu had always loved cats. Most people feared and hated them, but he found them to be the perfect thing to ease the pain of loneliness. As a young child in the bathhouse he had always been getting in trouble for playing with the area's stray cats due the fear that they would turn into bakeneko and haunt the place. As a result, he had reluctantly given up his furry playmates in favor of the ephemeral butterflies that flitted about the wildflowers. Besides, it had not been long before the six year old was put to work after his mother had ran off with one of her clients. Taking his sister with her, his mother had left him behind as payment for her debts. As result he had no time to play with anyone let alone a stay cat.

Things had changed as he grew older. He suddenly had more time for himself because most of the men, who came to the bathhouse, would rather have a young girl, or even an older woman than a boy who was nearly a man. So his loneliness had returned and with it a renewed interest in the cats in the area. Unfortunately, there were not many as the bathhouse owner was rather diligent in keeping them away after the death of one of the girls was blamed on an evil bakeneko. So Jakotsu had been pleasedto find a mangy ball of black fluff that he named Kageboushi. The kitten quickly grew into a sleek black cat that came and went like the shadows, successfully avoiding discovery for a while.

Jakotsu had the feeling it was Water Lily who had discovered the cat and had reported it to the owner. Since her room was next to his, it would have been easy for her to have seen Kageboushi leaving him a "present" of a dead mouse or bird, despite his best efforts at disposing of said presents as quickly as possible. Plus it would have been just like her to suggest he was possessed by the cat's malevolent spirit, earning him a beating. A beating Jakotsu happily took. The cat had disappeared for a few days after that and he was pleased it had found somewhere else to live. Sadly, a few days later, he found the cat dead in the garbage heap. Sighing softly, he gave into conventional wisdom and forgot about having a cat.

But all that had changed the day a cocky young warrior walked into his life and took him away from all that...

888

"What are you doing?" Bankotsu asked as he quirked an eyebrow at his new traveling companion.

"Playing with Tama..." Jakotsu said impishly as he dangled a long blade of grass in front of the kitten.

The little brown tabby stood on his hind legs, determined the catch the blade of grass that dangled just out of reach.

Jakotsu giggled as the kitten caught it. "Good, little Tama-chan..." he cooed softly.

"Done playing with him yet?"

"No..." the cross-dresser looked up at his new friend. "Why?"

"We have to go now. I've got a job for us. Some farmer's been having trouble with a rat youkai. It shouldn't be too hard for the two to kill. Hell, I think you could probably do it by yourself."

"I don't know, Bankotsu... fighting alongside you is one thing, but by myself?" He gently tickled behind the kitten's ear.

Tama purred loudly, prompting Jakotsu to pick him up.

"Yeah. I think you can do it. But you're going to have to pay attention to what you're doing, okay? You can play with the cat later..." Bankotsu trailed off, his mouth hanging open as he watched the cross-dresser cuddle the kitten.

"Okay... Bye, Tama-chan..." Jakotsu nuzzled the kitten, before setting him down.

888

"Who's your little friend, Jakotsu?" Suikotsu asked when he ambled over to the cross-dresser. They had been waiting for Bankotsu, and Jakotsu had flopped down in the shade of a large ginkgo tree in the middle of the village they were passing through in search of work.

The cross-dresser stroked the calico cat that was sitting in his lap and sighed contentedly. "Mi-ke..." He looked up at Suikotsu worriedly. "I think something's wrong with him, Sui..."

"Really?" Suikotsu held his finger out to the cat, which briefly sniffed his finger, before rubbing against it.

"Yeah... His stomach keeps moving around. Look it's doing it again."

Suikotsu snorted in amusement. "That's because he, or rather she, is going to have kittens."

"It's a girl cat? But I just saw him scratch the hell out of a couple of dogs..." The cross-dresser blinked.

"She's a tough little lady and will probably be a good mother to her kittens."

"Oh..."

"Maybe if we pass through here again you can have one of her kittens."

"Yeah... That would be nice, but how can I take care of a cat if we're always moving from place to place?"

"You've got a point there... But maybe one day we'll be able to settle down and then you can have as many cats as you like."

"You think so?"

"Yeah..."

888

Jakotsu giggled and clasped his hands together in delight. "I think he likes you, Gin!"

Ginkotsu looked down at the cream and white colored bob-tail cat. "Geshi...?"

The cat purred as it rubbed against the half-metal man's leg before sauntering over to the cross-dresser who picked it up.

"You see? They only do that when they like you! And cats must like you a lot, Ren, cuz they're always doing that to you!" Jakotsu said. He was smiling happily as he cuddled the cat who purred happily against his shoulder.

"Tell me about it..." the fire-breather said dryly.

"There you are, Momo-chan!" the daimyo's young daughter cried she approached. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Naughty cat!"

The daimyo's retainers, who had been keeping a loose watch on the four men while Bankotsu was inside working out the details of their mission with the daimyo, snapped to attention as the little girl approached.

"Yuriko-hime!" Two guards stepped in front of her.

"I want my cat!!" the little girl cried.

"You cannot go there."

"Give her back her cat, Jak," Suikotsu whispered.

"But the cat doesn't like her, if he did he wouldn't have left her," Jakotsu hissed back at him as he held the cat tighter.

"Please, Jak..."

A petulant frown creased the cross-dresser's features.

Renkotsu got up and came over to them. "Jak, give the kid back her cat now. If she causes a fuss like I think she will, you could cost Oo-Aniki this job. So I suggest you march your ass over there right now and hand over that damned cat!" The fire-breather left the "or else" hanging unsaid in the air between them.

Jakotsu made a face before complying. He walked up to the guards and said sweetly, "Excuse me, but I believe this is the lady's cat..."

"Thank you for finding Momo-chan, Oneesan!" the little girl said happily. She held out her hands as she waited for Jakotsu to give her back the cat.

Jakotsu rubbed his cheek against the cat one last time, before reluctantly handing over the cat.

In a soft rustle of silk and a loud angry meow from the cat, the little girl ran over to her nurse. "Look, Komori-san! The pretty lady found Momo-chan!" she said as they disappeared from view.

888

Mukotsu watched as a group of village girls flirted with Jakotsu. His look of disgusted annoyance that was tinged with envy was amazingly mirrored by the cross-dresser as he looked up to see Mukotsu standing by himself. The diminutive poisoner, however, would have given anything at that moment to have all those girls fussing over him as he sourly thought about the cross-dresser's luck in attracting both men and women. His only consolation in the whole sorry affair was the fact that Jakotsu was getting more and more irritated as time went by.

Finally unable to take it any more, Mukotsu said, "What's he got that I haven't got?"

Renkotsu, who had heard him as he approached, said simply, "A kitten."

888

"Kyo, have you seen Toraneko-san?" Jakotsu asked the largest member of the Shichinintai, who was longing around the courtyard, picking his teeth with a ragged fingernail.

"Who?"

"Toraneko-san! I can't find him anywhere..." The cross-dresser sighed sadly.

"Oh... who is he?"

"My cat..."

Kyokotsu belched contentedly. "What's he look like?"

Jakotsu held up his hands about a foot apart. "He's about this big and he's orange with darker stripes like a tiger. Why? Have you seen him?!" he asked excitedly.

"I might have..." the giant replied vaguely.

"Where?!"

"Ummm..."

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, Jak..."

"He's not hurt, is he?" the cross-dresser asked, as a look of panic crossed his features.

"Not exactly..."

"Oh... so where is he?!"

"I ummm..."

"What?! Where is he, Kyo?!"

"I ummm..." Kyokotsu belched. "I think I ate him..."

"You what?!"

"I'm sorry, Jak, but I thought he was a funny looking rabbit and I was hungry and he looked like a tasty lil snack..."

Jakotsu paled. "You... ate... my... cat..." he whimpered slowly.

"I'm sorry... I was hungry and I didn't know he was yours..."

"How could you?!" Jakotsu cried as his eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm sorry..."

"What's the matter, Sweetness?" Bankotsu asked as he came over to see what the fuss was about.

"Kyo ate my cat!!" the cross-dresser wailed as he threw his arms around his lover's neck.

"He did?" Bankotsu frowned at the largest member of the Shichinintai. "Bad Kyo!" He shook his fist at the giant, before quickly turning it into a gesture of approval as he silently mouth "thank you!"

Kyokotsu, who was very confused by his leader's actions, none-the-less managed to look properly chastised.

"Come, Sweetness, maybe we can find you another cat."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." Bankotsu conceded with a sigh. He really did not want another cat, but had agreed to it simply because it indulged Jakotsu. The cross-dresser's love of cats made him happy, and that was the most important thing in Bankotsu's eyes...

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "D" is for Daring.**_


	4. D is for Daring

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _is based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section.) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: An __onnagata__ is a male Kabuki actor who specializes in women's roles._

_A noren is the decorative half curtains that separate rooms in a traditional Japanese home. They are also hung outside restaurants to announce the specialty within. _

_Thank you again, Sarga, for all your help in fixing this up! *smiles*_

"**D" is for Daring**

The young med student opened the door and stared at the person standing there.

"Hi, I'm here to answer your ad for a roommate..."

"Oh, yes... come in," the pre-medstudent replied as he moved out of the way to let the person in.

"Thanks... I'm Hibiya Jackson."

"Hibiya Jackson...?" he repeated.

"Yeah... I know it sucks, but I didn't have any say in the matter."

"I'm sorry, Hibiya-san. I was up all night studying for exams and my brain's a bit fuzzy." He smiled ruefully.

"Sorry. You want me to come back another time...?"

"No... You're here and I'm here and I'm Hirata Suiichi."

"Thanks... I thought you were going to send me away like everyone else."

"Why?"

"Why...? You do know I'm not a woman, don't you?"

The med student nodded.

"I'm gay too..." The cross-dresser smiled.

The med student stared at him blankly. "And...?"

"You don't care? Are you gay too?"

"No..."

The cross-dresser shrugged. "Oh... So are you going to show me around, or do you already have a roommate?"

"I'm sorry. Here." The med student knelt, picked up a pair of house slippers and set them in front of the cross-dresser who changed into them.

"Thanks... so what are you studying?"

"I'm pre-med. And you?"

"Theater. I want to be an onnagata when I grow up," the cross-dresser said saucily.

The med student laughed. "Come, let me show you around. It's not much, but the rent's cheap."

"That's good to hear. I can't afford my place any more and my father won't help me out as he's not too happy about my choice of a career. As if I'd be happy sitting at a desk all day in a suit and tie like he does..."

Suikotsu nodded. "This is the kitchen," he said as he moved aside the noren and stepped inside as the cross-dresser dutifully followed.

"Nice... and I take it the other room's the living area slash bedroom?"

"Yeah..."

"So when can I move in?" the cross-dresser said daringly.

"Uh..."

"Oh, not you too," he sighed bitterly. "I swear I won't hit on you even if I do think you're cute, and I promise not to hit on your friends... Come on," he pleaded. "I do have one redeeming quality..."

"What's that?"

"You don't have to worry about me stealing your girlfriends."

They laughed.

"You can move in whenever you're ready."

"Thanks..."

888

"You know, Suiichi, you could use a nickname to keep you from getting boring," the cross-dresser said as he applied his makeup, another small feat of daring as he was worried his new friend would think he was coming on to him.

"Yeah...? And what do you propose, my friend?" the premed student looked up from his textbook.

"You're going to be a doctor, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So doctors know about bones, so I thought Suikotsu would suit you and since it's so cute, I'm changing my name from Jackson which I absolutely loathe to Jakotsu."

Suikotsu laughed. "You're not serious."

"Am too..." the cross-dresser smirked. "It's different, not to mention our names sound close enough alike for people to ummm... stop giving me a hard time about stuff..." he trailed off softly. "Some of the guys on campus feel threatened by me... as if I'm such a commanding presence."

Suikotsu chose his words carefully. "You really are a commanding presence, especially on the stage."

"Yeah...?"

"Yeah... and they only give you a hard time because you let them."

"What do you mean I let them?"

"Well, you take your studies so seriously that when you make yourself up, it's like you become a woman. Most guys our age aren't that secure in their masculinity, hell most guys period aren't that secure, and someone as free and secure as you are naturally makes them uncomfortable. So they lash out at you instead of trying to deal with their own feelings."

Jakotsu quirked an eyebrow at his friend as he asked, "I take it we have a psych exam coming up again, hunh?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"Yeah... but it's part of your charms, Sui."

"Oh... so do you mind quizzing me?"

"Not at all..."

888

"Come, we're going," Jakotsu ordered, grabbing Suikotsu by the arm, and leading him backstage.

"You're crazy, Jak, they're never going to let us back there."

"They will too if you act like you belong!"

"I don't know..." Suikotsu muttered apprehensively when he found himself caught up in another one of Jakotsu's feats of daring. "Queen's a huge band and there's got to be a ton of security. They're going to know we don't belong there."

"Fine, if you don't want to go, I'll go myself."

Suikotsu tried a different tack. "I don't think you're Freddie Mercury's type."

Jakotsu stopped. "What do you mean, I'm not his type? He's not really gay?"

Suikotsu sighed. "He may not be, Jak, as I heard otherwise. Then again I've heard he is and that he likes ummm...'truck drivers.'"

"Truck drivers...?" Jakotsu blinked.

"Yeah... rough, low-life type men who look like him. You're too pretty and delicate. Besides, when you think about it what kind of men do you like?"

"Ummm..."

"Does 'rugged masculine types who are bisexual' ring a bell?"

"Well... ummm... I'm stupid to try this, hunh?"

"No, not stupid, just daring and brave," Suikotsu said with a smile. "Seriously, if you want to get backstage for the fun of getting there and seeing what it's like, let's do it. But if you're going to act like all the other idiot groupies, let's go home."

"Okay..."

888

"I'm sorry, Jackie... I swear it won't happen again."

"You're damn right it's not going to happen, Naraku! And you want to know why? I'm fucking sick and tired of you cheating on me all the damn shitting time, that's why!! Now get your stuff and get the fuck out of here!" Jakotsu said as he dared to do the unthinkable and throw his lover out of his life.

"Awe, come on, Jackie, it's you I love... She didn't mean a thing. I swear it," Naraku pleaded as he wrapped his arms around his lover.

Jakotsu stiffened under Naraku's touch. "Get your hands off me and get out of here or must I call the police and have you forcibly removed?" he intoned with deadly calm.

"I said I was sorry, what do you want me to do to make it up to you?"

"Naraku, you just don't get it do you? It's not some fucking slut you picked up in some club this time; this is my best friend's wife!! How could you do that to me?!"

"I don't know... I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Oh you were thinking alright! Thinking with your cock instead of your brains... but then I should have expected that from you by now, hunh? Just get the hell out of here and leave me alone..." the cross-dresser begged tiredly as he closed his eyes.

After his lover had left, Jakotsu, in another feat of daring, after throwing his lover out of his life, picked up the phone and dialed it.

"Uh, Sui... I'm so sorry... I feel so badly about this that words can't even begin to describe it..."

888

Jakotsu walked into the empty studio, his footsteps echoing throughout the place as he looked for signs of life. He swallowed his fear about seeing Naraku again and kept going. This could be his big break if he was daring enough and the thought of finally kissing "Kabuki Dinner Theater" goodbye gave him the courage to face his fears head on.

"Hello...? Anyone here?"

"Oh hi!" A petite brunette hurried over to him. "I'm sorry; no one's here yet." She smiled warmly at him. "I'm Rin Noto." She stuck her hand out towards him. "Sorry, I keep forgetting; it's last name first here... Noto Rin."

Jakotsu smiled. "I'm Hibiya Jakotsu. And don't worry about it," he said as he shook her hand. "I was also born and raised in the states."

"You were?"

"Yeah... I came back here around your age too... Ummm. So what do you around here?"

"I'm with the band." She laughed. "I'm dating one of the guitarists. I met him a year ago at a record signing and asked me to come with him, so I did. My parents weren't too happy about it though... But he swore on his life that I would behave and that his sister-in-law would look out for me and they gave in. Personally, I think he paid my dad off."

"Hey, Brat! I heard that!" Sesshomaru teased as he sauntered closer to them. "Damn... You're even prettier in person."

"Thank you... ah?"

Rin giggled. "The geezer is my boyfriend, Sessh. Yeah, he's a dirty old man with a Lolita complex, so watch out for him."

"Keep that up and I'll ship you back home to your parents."

"Yeah, but you won't cuz I have you so whipped you'd die without me."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Don't flatter yourself."

Jakotsu coughed. "Ummm...." he trailed off helplessly.

"Sorry," they chorused.

"Here's the script," Sesshomaru informed as he handed the cross-dresser the item in question. "Why don't you look it over and get a feel to what we're going to do so we can do a couple of walkthroughs today. If all goes well, I guess we can shoot it tomorrow."

"Okay..."

"Jackie!"

The cross-dresser flinched at the sound of his voice and it took every ounce of nerve and daring to turn around and face his ex. Plastering a polite smile on his face, Jakotsu said sweetly, "Naraku."

"Long time, no see, eh?"

"Yeah..."

"Ummm, Sessh and I need to go see about making arrangements to get you a dressing room for tomorrow." Rin pushed her boyfriend away, leaving Jakotsu standing there with his ex.

"So what have you been doing with yourself?"

"Nothing much other than helping Sui put the pieces of his life back together," Jakotsu snapped tartly.

Naraku chuckled. "Oh come on, it can't have been that bad. Kikyou said their marriage was dead."

"Kikyou just told you what you wanted to hear just like everyone else around you does." Plucking up his courage, Jakotsu mentally dared himself to go on. "Just like I did all those years ago."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... Now if you don't mind, I have work to do."

Naraku smiled seductively at him. "There's plenty of time for that later." He reached for the script.

"I don't think so. The time for that has long passed," he said, snubbing his former lover. Jakotsu surprised himself by saying that as he did not think he had the daring to finally voice out loud what his heart knew all along. He was finally over Naraku. And judging by the look on Naraku's face as he pushed past him, his ex could not believe it either.

888

Jakotsu sat on the floor of the tiny apartment he had once shared with Suikotsu, wrapping up bits of his life and stowing them away in a box. They had both lived here off and on; sometimes with each other and sometimes alone, except for the time Jakotsu had lived there with Naraku. Now that both of them were successful in their chosen careers, it was time to give up the apartment. Suikotsu had moved out two days ago to be closer to the clinic where he worked as a pediatrician, and now it was Jakotsu's turn to move out and into the spacious apartment he found in the heart of Tokyo. But the cross-dresser was finding it hard to muster up the courage and daring he needed to move on with his life. Suddenly the new apartment felt huge and cavernous and he wondered if he had chose it with the thought of his best friend moving in with him. Sighing softly, Jakotsu became lost in his thoughts.

"I've finished packing up the kitchen for you and if you done in here maybe we can get a bite to eat somewhere?" Bankotsu said as he padded softly into the room. "Jak?" He knelt in front of his boyfriend. "Earth to Jakotsu... Earth to Jakotsu. Hello? Is anyone home?" the younger man prodded playfully.

"Hunh?" the cross-dresser replied as he pulled himself out of his reverie.

"You okay? You look like you're going to cry or something."

Jakotsu nodded. "I'm fine; Ban..." he sighed. "It's just that, well... I ummm... I learned a lot about how to be daring and brave here and I also got very comfortable here... I know there were times too when I had moved out but I always came back in the end." He smiled ruefully. "And the only unhappy time I had here was when I had one disastrous boyfriend move in with me."

They laughed.

"But..." Jakotsu added softly.

"But what?"

"Well... the new apartment is so big..." He smiled helplessly at Bankotsu.

"Yeah... they're hard to find and even harder to fill up..."

Jakotsu nodded. "Yeah..." The cross-dresser fell silent as he worked up the courage for one final daring move and Bankotsu, as if sensing his mood, quietly gave him the space to work things out. "Ban...?"

"Yeah...?"

"I know we haven't been together that long and all..."

"But?" Bankotsu prompted.

"Do you want to move in with me?" Jakotsu could not believe he actually dared say that to someone he had only recently started to date. But somehow things felt different with Bankotsu and the cross-dresser started to panic over what his new boyfriend would say. He was deathly afraid the younger man would think he was crazy because he already had a huge place of his own.

"I'd love to."

"You would?"

"Yeah..."

"Awesome!" Jakotsu cheered, throwing his arms around a startled Bankotsu, as he finally got up enough daring to let himself be really and truly happy...

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "E" is for Eternal**_


	5. E is for Eternal

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _is based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section.) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_Part of this particular fic is based on Vega-chan's awesome SciFi adventure AU "IY 14 Project." It can be found over at DeviantArt under her gallery name of VegaSailor._

_Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! *glomps you*_

_Thanks also to Sarga for helping me revise this! *loves you*_

_FYI: Gaijin is Japanese for foreigner._

_Okama: Japanese slang for an effeminate man, especially a drag queen, and can also refer to one's behind or anus. It also means a pot. When used to refer to a gay man it can have negative connotations. _

"**E" is for Eternal.**

"Sui, what does 'ternal' mean?" the cross-dresser asked.

"Ternal?" Sukotsu blinked, not knowing what Jakotsu was trying to say.

"Yeah… Ren said I was a ternal pain in his ass the other day and I was wondering if it was a good thing or not…" Jakotsu wondered quietly as they made their way home from a mission. "I know 'pain in the ass' isn't but I was hoping the 'ternal' meant maybe it was…"

"I think you mean 'eternal.'" The claw-bearer smiled. "In Ren's case it's not such a good thing, but if Oo-Aniki said you were his eternal love it is. Eternal means it lasts forever."

"Really?"

"Yup… Lots of things can be eternal, like pines on a mountain top, or the seasons, or the cycle of life and death."

"Oh… But how would I know if I was Aniki-chan's ternal love? He still goes whoring, but he always comes home to me every night."

"That's a good sign," the claw-bearer assured his friend.

"The whoring?" Jakotsu looked up, wide-eyed, at the claw-bearer and Suikotsu was hard pressed to tell if he was teasing him or not.

"No, the 'always coming home to you' part."

"Oh…"

"So when you die and your love is eternal, then you'll get reborn as lovers," Suikotsu continued his explanation.

"Really?!"

"I believe so."

"Amazing…" Jakotsu sighed, starry-eyed.

"Yes, it is," the claw-bearer agreed.

"I hope it's true…"

"Me too," Suikotsu said with a smile. "I think it would be a wonderful thing if yours and Oo-Aniki's love lasted an eternity…"

888

The cross-dresser left his dressing room, fully made-up and in character. He giggled when Sesshomaru came up to him, took his hand and kissed it in an exaggerated attempt at gallantry. Jakotsu immediately felt at ease and by the time he got around to meeting the rest of the band and their wives and various hangers-on, he felt as if they were old friends.

So when the director yelled "Cut!" and told them to break for lunch, Jakotsu knew he had done the right thing just like his friend Suikotsu had told him.

The cross-dresser helped himself to some salad and a tuna fish sandwich and headed off to a quiet corner to eat by himself.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Jakotsu looked up and smiled. "No, not at all. You're…ummm… I'm sorry; everyone is just a blur of names. You are?"

"Kusao Bankotsu, but everyone calls me Ban. Stupid gaijin started calling me by my first name and after awhile I got tired of correcting them." He grinned.

"Oh…" Jakotsu raised a delicate eyebrow at him. "You know, I'm a stupid gaijin too, Kusao-san."

Bankotsu's mouth hung open as he blushed. "I'm sorry; I didn't know...Honestly you don't look it."

"It's okay." The cross-dresser smiled. "At least you didn't call me an 'okama.'"

"That's true…" Bankotsu chuckled before growing serious. "I don't know… I just find it amazing how you do it. I saw you walk in this morning and you looked like a guy, and an hour later you're a woman."

"Well, I have had a lot of practice doing this."

"Yeah?" Bankotsu said as he swallowed a bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah… You know, I got caught a few times playing with makeup when I was thirteen. My parents were crazy upset about it, my father especially." Jakotsu giggled as the memories came flooding back.

"I'll bet," the younger man said, his voice betraying his interest.

"So my father, in a burst of inspiration, transferred me to an all guy school as he figured I was too much in touch with my feminine side. Let's just say it was a gay boy's dream come true in a sense." The cross-dresser giggled again. "Although, I have to admit I was too scared to act on the opportunity; too many guys who'd just as soon kick my ass as plough it." He sighed wistfully.

Bankotsu tried hard not to laugh but failed miserably.

Jakotsu smiled. He was completely taken aback by how this gorgeous man, sitting across from him, was able to get him to open up about himself, and he liked it. "You know you're easy to talk to. I feel like we've been friends forever, you know?"

"Yeah… It's weird but I kinda feel the same way too." Bankotsu smiled shyly as he spoke.

"Maybe we knew each other in a past life or something," the cross-dresser teased.

"Yeah maybe…" he replied hesitantly.

"Don't tell me you believe in that stuff?" Jakotsu furrowed his brow in disbelief.

"Yeah… That's why I'm not worried that I'm pushing thirty slowly uphill and still haven't settled down yet. It's killing my family, my aunt, who raised me as her own, wants grandchildren, but… I don't know. I just can't see me having kids." Bankotsu sipped his tea.

"Well, unless you're hiding a uterus somewhere I don't know about, I'd say you having kids is a wee bit impossible, no?" the cross-dresser quipped.

Bankotsu laughed warmly. "You got me there."

"So we'll just have to get you a cat and call it a baby," the cross-dresser teased. "But seriously, why aren't you worried about settling down?" Jakotsu took a bite of his sandwich and waited for the other man's reply.

"I know this going to sound really weird, but …Ummm… Have you heard of a manga or anime called Chobits?" Bankotsu looked embarrassed, a faint blush tinting his cheeks.

Jakotsu nodded in thought. "That's the CLAMP one about the computer girl, no?"

"Yeah! Well, Chi, the computer girl, used to read these books about-"

"'Someone just for me!' I know!! I love that one! Poor Hideki, he finally finds the girl of his dreams and winds up not getting any." The cross-dresser chuckled.

"Yeah…"

"I always knew he should have just jumped that Shinbo's bones and been done with it."

Bankotsu laughed. "But what about Yumi?"

Jakotsu made a little sound of disgust. "Oh please! She's so pathetic! Always throwing herself at him like that."

"True…" Bankotsu let his words trail off.

"So you're saying you haven't found that 'someone just for you' yet?" the cross-dresser coaxed.

"Yup. That's why I'm not worried. I have the feeling sooner or later I'll meet her or him for that matter, and everything will just feel right and that's how I'll know."

"Interesting… I thought I had found that guy once, but it turned out I was dead wrong." Jakotsu sighed at the unpleasant memory. He briefly looked around as he prayed his ex-boyfriend would not come over and bother him again. The last thing the cross-dresser wanted was a repeat of what had happened that morning in his dressing room. He settled his gaze back on his lunch time companion. "So I've just about given up hope of ever finding him."

"Try not to think like that." the younger man advised. "I mean you never know that special someone could be closer than you think."

"Yeah…?"

"Yeah…" Bankotsu offered.

The pair lapsed into silence as they finished their lunches.

Jakotsu reluctantly got up to leave. "Thank you, Ban, for the pleasant company."

"You're welcome… Wait, you're not leaving are you?" Bankotsu reached out and gently grabbed the cross-dresser's wrist as he started to walk past.

"Well, I do have to get back to work soon…" the cross-dresser said, not wanting to insult his new friend. "And I did want to brush my teeth since I doubt Sessh would want to kiss me with all this tuna breath. Plus I need to fix my makeup. Do you want to, ummm… go out for dinner after this?"

"Yeah… I'd really like that. And you don't have dress up if you don't want to. Or if you do I won't mind, whatever makes you feel more comfortable." Bankotsu hoped he did not give the man the wrong idea. Either way Jakotsu chose to present himself was fine with him.

Jakotsu smiled, grateful for the sincerity he heard in Bankotsu's voice. "How about we compromise and I wear some makeup with my jeans?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Yeah? Well, it sounded more like a date to me," Jakotsu flirted saucily as he walked away.

"A date…?" Bankotsu was a bit startled. What startled him even more was that he looked forward to it.

"Yeah, a date…" the cross-dresser called out. Inwardly, Jakotsu could not believe he found a date so easily and he figured his luck was finally starting to change. Then again he wondered if maybe there was some truth to what Bankotsu had said about finding the love of his life. Shrugging as he headed towards his dressing room, Jakotsu decided he would think about the possibilities later on over dinner.

888

Bankotsu looked at the psychiatrist and sighed. "He's still stressing out?"

The doctor looked down at the data pad in front of her. "Yes. While the flashbacks and nightmares about the incident have lessened to an extent, he's still not sleeping as well as he should after all this time. Plus he's starting to claim the only reason he's here is to cure his homosexuality and cross-dressing and no matter how many times it's explained to him that they haven't been classified as mental disorders in centuries, he persists in the belief and he's started to refuse his medication and as result-"

"Damn…"

"It's been undermining his recovery. Now every time he hears a loud noise he ducks for cover, and when any of the doctors try to medicate him, he starts carrying on about how we can't do that as it'll destroy the love he has for you. And then he stresses out even more. I believe he's still reliving the event and his love for you is very strong to point where it's affecting his recovery."

"I didn't know he was reliving the event. But then again, I wasn't even seriously hurt. It looked bad, I mean what head wound doesn't look bad?" Bankotsu quipped and getting no response from the doctor other than an arched eyebrow, he continued, "I just don't understand why he's getting so freaked out about something that happened a while ago."

"Post traumatic stress disorder is like that. He's unable to deal with what happened to himself so he's coping by being overprotective of you. And since you're both military, or rather paramilitary, danger comes up frequently in your line of work. Initially, I suspect something very minor triggered a panic attack sometime after the fact and because you were so far away from proper medical help at the time it escalated out of control."

"I was hit with some shrapnel when a computer station he was working on blew up. All I got was a scratch when he's lucky to be alive."

"I see…" The psychiatrist keyed in more data on her pad.

"Doctor, are you saying that any type of military action is going to make him worse?"

"It's possible." The doctor looked down at her data pad again and keyed something in. "It's rare, but it does happen; there's one patient in every hundred we treat who cannot be helped. If your partner is one of them, then your options are limited. We can treat the symptoms, but your choice of a career also increases the likelihood that he will get worse despite our best efforts. However, if it's any consolation to you he's been a tremendous help in getting one of our other patients to calm down enough that he no longer needs restraints."

"Restraints?"

The psychiatrist nodded. "He heard one of our newer patients having a psychotic episode and amazingly he was able to calm him down better than the medication we had been trying. Since then they've been inseparable. Come; I'll take you to the observation deck and you can see for yourself. In a way, this could be a break through for him." She got up from behind her desk and headed towards the door, Bankotsu in tow.

As they walked down the halls to the observation deck, he peppered the doctor with questions about his partner's new friend. The more she told him, more Bankotsu worried that keeping Jakotsu here was not a good idea, especially since it seemed he was getting worse instead of better.

The psychiatrist palmed a switched and the opaque window suddenly cleared. As she continued to hold her hand over the switch snatches of Jakotsu's and the other patient's conversation became audible until they could hear the whole thing perfectly.

"… Yup…" Jakotsu sighed. "Our love is infernal." He nodded.

"Infertile?" the other patient asked.

"Infertile, no… that's not it…" The cross-dresser chewed on his lower lip as he tried to remember the word. "It's the word that means going on and on like the pink bunny with the drum does." He thought for a bit, growing frustrated. "Damn it! I can't remember what it is! They must be putting shit in my oatmeal again!"

"Yeah…?"

"Yeah! I tell you, Sui, somebody wants me to forget the love I have for my Ban…" Jakotsu breathed fearfully. There was no mistaking the look of panic on his face.

"You think the pink bunny's doing it?"

Jakotsu laughed. "That's funny! That little bunny was evil!! He kept banging on this drum over and over again. But he wasn't as funny as the women writing love notes to some guys dressed up as fruit, thanking them for making such pretty underwear to prance around in. Damn it, women are stupid!" the cross-dresser laughed.

"Where did you see all this stuff?"

"Out in space. Ren helped me rig the computers so we could see them. He said it was just space junk from centuries ago and that people watched them on something called a TV," the cross-dresser stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh…"

"Yeah… it's an eternal racket!"

"Eternal racket?"

"Yeah!! Thanks, Sui! That's the word I was looking for!!"

"Oh good…" He smiled.

"Want to hear a really funny word?"

Suikotsu nodded.

"Wazzup!" Jakotsu collapsed into a giggle fit.

"Wazzup…?"

"Wazzup!!" the cross-dresser repeated.

"I don't get it?" Suikotsu muttered, a puzzled frown creasing his forehead.

"I don't either… It was just a bunch of guys sitting around saying that. What's really funny is when you say that to Ren. He gets so annoyed that he gets this funny look on his face like he just can't quite get the hang of frowning!!" Jakotsu giggled. "Then he calls me an eternal pain in the ass and the bane of his existence. I wish you could meet them. I think you would like them."

"Yeah…?" Suikotsu looked unsure.

"Yeah… You know, Ban loves me so much I bet if I asked him, he'd let you come with us." Jakotsu looked expectantly at his new best friend.

Suikotsu nodded slowly. "It would be nice as I have nowhere else to go, but I don't know, Jak. I have a lot of problems…"

"Can't be any worse than mine… I'm a cross-dressing homosexual. That must be so bad that they don't even have a way to treat me, cuz they keep trying to convince me it's not a mental disorder."

"It's not."

Jakotsu blinked, not quite believing his new best friend's words. "Yeah? How do you know that?"

"I was a doctor at one time before I became ill…"

"Oh… But that's great! We need a doctor!! Now I know Ban'll take you with me!"

"Yeah?" It was Suikotsu's turn to be skeptical.

"We could be friends forever! Just like I have an eternal love for my lil dumpling." Jakotsu giggled, his gaze starry-eyed as he thought about his lover.

"I hope so…" Suikotsu sighed, as he gave into the glimmer bit of hope that brighted his future.

"Me too…"

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "F" for "Father."**_


	6. F is for Father

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section)Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: A cheongsam is a dress of Southern Chinese origin, with a slit skirt and a Mandarin collar. It can have long, short or ¾ length sleeves. _

_The Park Hyatt is an actual Hotel in Tokyo._

_An__onnagata__ is a male Kabuki actor who specializes in women's roles. Jakotsu gives a modern twist to this traditional art form. _

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**F" is for Father**

"Okay! Who are you, and what have you done with Jakotsu?" Bankotsu playfully demanded when the cross-dresser emerged from the bedroom. 

"Hunh?" Jakotsu stared blankly at him while he adjusted his tie. 

"You certainly sound like him, although you look more like him when he's ready for bed as that's one of few times I get to see him without makeup. Still, I've never seen him in a suit and tie before, so how do I know it's really you?" Bankotsu teased.

"Idiot!" the cross-dresser laughed. "That's because tonight's my father's seventieth birthday party and if you're going with me, you'd better move your ass and get dressed!"

"But I thought you were going to wear that pretty red cheongsam you picked up in Hong Kong two weeks ago."

"Yeah, I was, but then I figured I'd finally do as he asked and dress like a guy for once. He's seventy, Ban, and who knows how much longer he's going to be around?" Jakotsu said sadly.

"I know... but you never told me he had a problem with you... ummm, you know..." Bankotsu said helplessly when they went back into the bedroom.

"You never asked." Jakotsu sighed. "Ban honey, you know, I've spent most of my life trying to be who I am without upsetting my father and it's never worked."

"Yeah...?" Bankotsu took out his suit and changed his pants.

"Yup... My father could never accept the fact that his only child is a gay man who likes to wear women's clothing and who has made a damned good career out of doing it too!" he said bitterly.

"Sweetness, if you don't want to go we don't have to. I can always call your mother and tell her you're sick," Bankotsu said as he unbuttoned his shirt.

"It's okay. He's my father for good or bad and I have to be there no matter what. So I've decided to give him this as his present." He elegantly ran his hand down the front of his suit.

Bankotsu sighed. "As nice as the thought behind that is, I don't think he's going to be fooled for a minute, especially when we walk in together."

"So you wear the dress," Jakotsu said tartly.

"That's not what I meant," Bankotsu said, while taking off his shirt and, putting on a clean one.

"I know..." The cross-dresser looked away sadly.

Bankotsu came up behind and silently wrapped his arms around his lover. 

Jakotsu, appreciating the simple gesture, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He felt close to tears, and having his lover's love and support made him almost, but not quite, dismiss the regrets he had concerning his father. 

"We'd better go..." he said softly.

"Okay... then I'd better hurry and finish dressing. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah..." Jakotsu said softly. He pulled way from his lover, and turning to face him, he kissed Bankotsu on the cheek, before leaving their bedroom.

Bankotsu counted to five, and picking up his cell phone, he went into the bathroom and turned on the water. After quickly splashing some on his face and patting it dry, he took his phone and dialed Suikotsu.

"Sui? Listen to me as I don't have much time. You know the Park Hyatt? That's where they're having the party for Jak's father. Give me about ten minutes to finish getting dressed, and let yourself in and bring Jak's red Chinese dress, shoes, and all the crap he needs to dress up as well as his makeup. I'll call his mother and make arrangements for you. Just bring the stuff there and they'll send it up to their room. What?" He paused as Suikotsu said something. "Hell yeah! I've never seen him so depressed before... I think he'd feel a lot better if he was dressed more 'comfortably' if you can call that comfortable. Anyway, I've gotta go before he comes looking for me. Thanks, Sui! I owe you one." Bankotsu quickly hung up and made another call to his lover's mother. He had just finished the call and had barely managed to slip his phone into his pants pocket when his lover came looking for him. 

"You fall in or something?"

Bankotsu laughed as he emerged from the master bathroom. "No..." He grinned. "You know, for someone who wasn't too keen on going, and don't give me any crap about that not being true either, you're sure in one big hurry to go."

The cross-dresser shrugged, and picking up Bankotsu's tie, Jakotsu pulled his lover's shirt collar up and draped it around his neck, before quickly tying it in a four-in-hand knot. Jakotsu flipped the collar down and lightly ran his hands across Bankotsu's shoulders, smoothing the fabric of his shirt as well as drawing a bit of comfort from the touch. Smiling faintly, he stepped back so Bankotsu could put on his suit jacket.

Minutes later they stepped out of the apartment and headed off to the party. 

888

As they walked into the Hyatt's lobby, Jakotsu's father spotted them and he came over to greet them. When he got closer to them his look of joy at seeing his son quickly faded into a frown.

"Happy Birthday, Dad..." Jakotsu bowed formally to his father.

"Thank you."

"I want to wish you a 'Happy Birthday' as well, Hibiya-san." Bankotsu formally greeted his lover's father. "May you live to see one hundred years and then some."

"Thank you, Kusao-san." The old man turned to his son. "Jackson, why are you dressed like that?"

"Hunh? Mom said it was a formal dinner party...?" Jakotsu's confusion was clearly seen on his face.

His father made a small sound of disgust. "All my friends know my son is a famous onnagata. If they see you like this they'll think I have two sons and this one is a good for nothing show-off in a fancy suit." He sighed angrily. "Can't you do anything right?"

"Apparently not!" Jakotsu said bitterly.

"Ummm... What if you went into one of the hotel shops and bought a dress and some makeup?" Bankotsu said helplessly. He hated being caught in the middle of family troubles, but even more so, he hated seeing Jakotsu's attempts to please his father rebuffed. 

Father and son as if sensing his discomfiture, turned and quickly apologized. 

"Please, I saw nothing, heard nothing other than the love of a father for his son and visa versa."

Jakotsu's father smiled and nodded his approval. "You are very wise, Kusao-san."

"Thank you, but I'm really an idiot who wouldn't know a wise saying from a foolish one."

The elder Hibiya laughed. 

Jakotsu sighed. "As tempting as that sounds, it's not going to work, Ban. I still need my waist cincher and my panties with the padding on the sides to give me some hips, and my bra and falsies, not to mention a pair of pantyhose and then there's the whole question of shoes. I have to special order my shoes because I can't find any in my size." He sighed again. "No... Dad is just going to live with the shame of having an idiot for a son."

His father snorted impatiently and Jakotsu could see he wanted to say something but he was restraining himself. "Come," he said instead. "Let's go before your mother starts to worry about me." He started to head towards the private halls where the party was set up in one of the rooms.

As they followed behind him, someone called out from behind, "Ban, Jak! Wait!"

Turning around, they saw Suikotsu hurrying over to them with a garment bag and a small suitcase in hand. "A little butterfly told me you needed this." He handed the suitcase and garment bag to a startled Jakotsu, and turning to the elder Hibiya, he said, "Happy Birthday, Hibiya-san."

"Thank you, Hirata-sensei. How have you been?"

"As well as a lazy good for nothing son like myself can be. And you?"

"As well as a man my age with a good for nothing son can be. Will you please stay and help me celebrate?"

Suikotsu sighed. "As much as I would love to, Hibiya-san, you'll have to forgive me, but I'm on call tonight. Instead, rejoice in the fact that you have a dutiful son who is able to be with you. If you'll excuse me?"

"Good night, Hirata-sensei."

"Good night, Hibiya-san, Jak, Ban."

"'Night, Sui... and thanks," Jakotsu whispered when he chastely brushed his lips against Suikotsu's cheek. 

"You're welcome, but you should really be thanking Ban. Don't ask how he knew, but he called me before you two left and asked me to bring it. Now go get changed and enjoy yourself."

Jakotsu smiled. "Thank you, I will..."

"Good night, Sui!"

As they watched him go, Jakotsu's father asked Bankotsu if he would mind telling his wife that they had gone up to their room, and that they would be down as soon as possible.

"Not at all, Hibiya-san. Is there anything else I can tell her?"

"No..."

888

Jakotsu and his father rode the elevator in silence punctuated only by the soft dinging of the bell that counted the floors. While the ride had seemed to take forever in the cross-dresser's humble opinion, they were soon stepping out of it onto the sixth floor. The silence stretched a bit more painfully between while they walked down the hall to his father's room. Once inside, Jakotsu was pleased to note that the room was just as the hotel manager assured him it would be, simple and elegant, but not so ostentatious as to make his parents feel uncomfortable. He walked over to the bed and carefully laid the garment bag and overnighter on the bed. 

Taking off his suit jacket, Jakotsu laid it out on the other bed in the room and loosened his tie.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Jakotsu shook his head. "Not at the moment, Chichi-ue. I need to get undressed first." He took off his tie and pulled his shirt out of his pants, before he started unbuttoning it. The cross-dresser laughed. "You know, I've done this more times than I can remember and I've never felt this weird before..." 

His father also laughed as he sat down at the desk. "I have to admit it is strange watching one's son get undressed."

"You're telling me?" Jakotsu teased. Having removed his shirt, he was now busy taking off his pants as the silence once again stretched between them.

"Please tell me you're not wearing red silk panties...?"

"Uh, yeah..." Jakotsu tittered nervously as he blushed. "They're ummm..." He sighed. "They're my lucky panties, Chichi-ue."

"Lucky panties...?" the elder Hibiya repeated slowly as if that would help him understand. He shook his head. "Don't explain, Jackson. Just be glad your mother isn't here to see this."

Jakotsu laughed. "Yeah... Ummm... Chichi-ue...? I could use your help now." He picked up the waist clincher and wrapped it around his waist. "Can you please hook that together for me? Thanks. Normally Ban does it for me." 

"Okay... It's not too tight?"

"No, it's supposed to be like that. You see?" Jakotsu turned to face his father and ran his hands down his sides to emphasize his tiny waist.

"Yes..."

Smiling, Jakotsu sat down on the bed and rifled through his suitcase. Finding what he was looking for, he removed a pair of panty hose and began the slow process of rolling down the leg until he reached the foot. He could still feel his father watching him intently, but somehow the previous tension seemed to have dissipated. Reaching the toe, he slipped it over his foot only to repeat the process for the other leg, before slowly pulling them on. The cross-dresser stood and grabbed the lacy black bra from the suitcase and put it on. He stuffed a pair of breast prostheses into the cups. Jakotsu checked out his new figure in the mirror while he decided whether or not to pad his hips. Having decided against it, he reached for the cheongsam. Stepping carefully into the long red silk dress, he carefully pulled it up over his body.

His father sat there, amazed, while he watched the transformation his son went through to become the media icon everyone was familiar with. Jakotsu, even without makeup, looked more like a beautiful woman in her mid-forties, than man of the same age in a dress. And when he looked over his shoulder and smiled, the elder Hibiya was reminded of his wife at that age.

"Chichi-ue, can you zip this up for me?" Jakotsu said, pulling his father from his reverie. 

"Uh...? Sure," his father said as he quickly recovered his composure. 

888

Ten minutes later, Jakotsu emerged from the bathroom with his makeup case, his face carefully made up. There was an undeniable look of shock on his father's face as he took it all in, and the cross-dresser could feel his own expression darkening, until his father smiled. 

"Who knew I was the father of such a beautiful daughter?"

Jakotsu blushed as a smiled tugged at his lips. "Who knew I was the 'daughter' of such a wonderful father?"

"I don't know... Now go fix your hair so we can leave."

"Yes, sir!" Jakotsu hurried over to the mirror, pulling the elastic band from his hair. He quickly pulled his hair up into a loose chignon on top of the back of his head. Holding it in place, he rummaged around his overnighter with one hand, until he found a set of hair chopsticks. Sticking first one then the other into the bun to secure it, the cross-dresser pulled a few wispy hairs from the bottom to curl against the nape of his neck. "You sure I look okay?"

"You look beautiful, Jackson," his father replied.

"Thank you..."

"Now let's go before I miss my party."

"Okay..." Jakotsu kissed the air close to his father's face so as not to get lipstick on his cheek. 

"Ja...kotsu...?" The elder Hibiya paused with his hand on the doorknob as they were about to leave.

"Yeah...?"

"Can you forgive me for being such a miserable father?"

Jakotsu looked him in the eye, feeling his own well up with tears, and nodded. "Only if you can forgive me for being such a disappointing son..."

The silence briefly stretched between them.

"Fine," Jakotsu's father said as he opened the door. "Now let's go before I miss my party."

"Sounds good to me..." Jakotsu replied as they headed down to the party.

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "G" for Generous.**_


	7. G is for Generous

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**G" is for Generous**

"Damn it, Sui, can't he go a day without trying to seduce me?" Renkotsu groaned. "Hell, at this point I'd settle for a half a day or even an hour..."

The claw-bearer chuckled. "Well..." Suikotsu trailed off, his eyes twinkling with amusement over their newest recruit's situation. "How can I put this...?" He could barely keep his laughter inside and he paused in an effort to control it. "Jakotsu tends to be rather generous with his affection..." At the look of surprised horror on the fire-breather's face, Suikotsu could not help himself and he laughed. "I'm sorry, Ren... He does that with everyone at first, but gradually it dies down. Hehehe..." he laughed. "It all depends on how close we are to the pleasure district of the village we're passing through, if the local girls aren't willing..."

Renkotsu rolled his eyes and after a few minutes, he nodded thoughtfully as they continued on their way to their next mission. "Wait... I thought he didn't like women."

"Jak doesn't; I was referring to Oo-Aniki. You're not the only who gets annoyed with his antics, Ren. Although..." The claw-bearer smiled. "Instead of complaining about it, Oo-Aniki will extract his own form of punishment. You'll see, once we find some willing girls he'll go off with them, leaving Jak to stew about it. Then you'll get lucky and Jak will leave you alone and turn his generosity towards Oo-Aniki." 

"Good... In fact I'm willing to help Oo-Aniki pay for it."

"Pay for what, Ren?" Jakotsu asked. He came up behind them, worming his way between the two of them. Smiling brightly, he reached out and clung to the annoyed fire-breather's arm. 

"A woman for Oo-Aniki," Renkotsu said, carefully keeping his annoyance out of his voice.

"Why would you want to do that?" Jakotsu asked, barely controling his peevishness at Renkotsu's answer.

"Well, I figured that now that I have a bit of money, I thought I can afford to be a little generous with my new ummm... family." Renkotsu looked down at the cross-dresser and grinned. 

Jakotsu took a deep breath and snorted it out loudly through his nose, before replying, "What makes you think Aniki-chan wants a woman when he has me?"

"Well... you've been awfully generous yourself with your ummm... affections when it comes to me," Renkotsu said, noting with satisfaction the slight nod Suikotsu gave him. "That I thought maybe Oo-Aniki was feeling a bit left out and I figured that would cheer him up." The fire-breather smiled.

Suikotsu nodded when Jakotsu turned towards him. "Ren's right; you have been paying a lot of attention to him and some to Gin too, and Oo-Aniki did seem a little bit saddened by it."

A look of panic spread across the cross-dresser's face. "He is...?"

Renkotsu nodded. "I'd say very sad. You've been so busy spreading the wealth, as it were, that I believe you've been neglecting him."

"I have...?" Jakotsu blinked. "He is...?" The cross-dresser sighed sadly when he caught sight of their leader walking ahead by himself. 

Bankotsu was simply looking down while he watched out for stones underfoot, but to the cross-dresser he was the very picture of sadness and despair.

"I think you should be a little more generous when it comes to Oo-Aniki, right, Sui?"

The claw-bearer nodded. "I agree. Why don't you hurry on ahead and see if you can cheer him up."

Jakotsu blinked before he too nodded. Without a word to his companions, he hurried off towards their leader, determined to lavish affection on him.

"What's wrong, Aniki-chan? You look so sad," Jakotsu said softly, falling into step alongside his lover. 

Bankotsu briefly looked up at him. "Nothing... I'm really happy there's a possibility of a huge reward for this next mission if we can get it done quickly enough. Ouch! Damn it!" Bankotsu swore as he stepped on a large stone. He paused, grimacing, and Jakotsu stopped as well, concern for his lover written all over his face. 

"Here. Let me see!" Jakotsu said as he knelt and picked up his lover's foot. 

Bankotsu laughed. "Put my foot down, Sweetness!" He waved the others away.

"You sure you can walk? I know! I'll carry you!" Jakotsu gently placed Bankotsu's foot down, before turning his back towards his lover. "Get on!"

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you carry me because of a stubbed toe, so you can forget it, Sweetness," Bankotsu said. He smiled at his paramour as he shook his head, relieved to note that Jakotsu had not given him up in favor of the fire-breather. "Besides, how are you going to manage carrying me as well as your Jakotsutou and my baby, when you can't even lift Banryuu off the ground?"

"Ummm... I'm being stupid again, hunh?"

"Nah, not stupid; just cute..." Bankotsu smiled.

Jakotsu smiled back, and after quickly placing a kiss on his lover's cheek, he continued down the road with him. As they walked along in companionable silence, Jakotsu thought up ways to shower Bankotsu with affection.

888

Bankotsu sat there, feeling very uncomfortable over all the attention his paramour was lavishing on him. Normally he would not care, since Jakotsu often did that when they were traveling alone, leading people to believe they were a young married couple, a ruse that was often helpful in their work. When they had found Suikotsu and adopted him into their group, he not only did not question it, he always gave them some time alone whenever possible. But now, he had two new faces in the group that were trying hard not to stare at all the fuss, and failing miserably. Plus every time he opened his mouth to say something to Jakotsu, the cross-dresser would generously pop bits of his dinner in it. However, enough was enough in Bankotsu's humble opinion, especially since he had the feeling Renkotsu was finding the whole thing highly amusing.

"Sweetness!" he hissed a few times between bites, trying to get his paramour's attention.

"Hunh...?" The cross-dresser stared at him expectantly over the top of his tea cup. "Are you still hungry? You can finish my fish if you want."

"No..." Bankotsu swallowed. "Just stop sharing your dinner with me," he said softly. "I'm worried you won't have enough strength tomorrow if you don't eat."

"Oh..." Jakotsu said. He daintily set his tea cup down and picked up his bowl of rice. "But I'm really not all that hungry..." the cross-dresser said equally as softly and Bankotsu could tell from the look in his eyes that Jakotsu was upset over having his efforts to be generous rebuffed.

Trying not to heave a long suffering sigh, Bankotsu briefly glared at his new second-in-command, who was busy concealing his amusement by coughing, before turning to his paramour. "Neither am I. How about you help me eat it?"

Jakotsu immediately brightened. "Okay!" he squealed with delight, and setting down his rice bowl, the cross-dresser picked up a piece of his fish with his chopsticks and lovingly held it out for Bankotsu to eat.

888

"Damn, he's really got Oo-Aniki wrapped around his little finger." Renkotsu chuckled, while taking an after dinner walk around the inn's grounds with Suikotsu.

"Yes and no..." Suikotsu trailed off as he tried to think of how to explain it.

"Hunh?"

"While Oo-Aniki does give Jakotsu some license to do as he pleases; he does at the same time keep him on a tight rein even if it doesn't look like it." At Renkotsu's disbelieving look, he added, "It has nothing to do with their relationship, Ren. I think it has more to do with Jak's past."

"Yeah?"

Suikotsu nodded. "Jakotsu had said once that Oo-Aniki had found him working in a bathhouse, something Oo-Aniki later confirmed. I'm sorry, I don't know all the details, but I do know it has a lot to do with Jakotsu's generosity. Having nothing and I suppose being starved for real affection, he takes what he gets from Oo-Aniki and shares it." The claw-bearer looked over at Renkotsu as they walked along. "I've seen him take a mouthful of rice and go hungry just so Oo-Aniki and I wouldn't have to."

"No shit..."

"It's true." The claw-bearer grinned. "Look, if you really want to fit in and feel like a part of the 'family,' Ren, then I suggest you learn to accept Jak's generosity," he said seriously. "And take it for what it is. He may flirt and tease but his heart belongs to Oo-Aniki."

Renkotsu nodded.

"Gin seems to have figured that out..." Suikotsu said, leaving the "why can't you see it too?" unsaid.

"True... but then again, Jak's not trying to seduce Gin every chance he gets," the fire-breather pointed out.

"Point taken, but he honestly doesn't mean a thing by it."

"He try it with you?"

Suikotsu nodded. "A few times, but then my darker side quickly put a stop to it and the nature of his affections changed. He still flirts with me, but then I doubt he could stop doing that even if he tried." The claw-bearer shrugged. 

"You're probably right... Oh hell!" Renkotsu swore, stopping short and, holding up his hand to halt Suikotsu as well.

Suikotsu also spotted them in the garden's secluded clearing. "Come; let's go before they see us."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Jakotsu, who was happily letting Bankotsu have his way with him, somehow managed to notice them despite their efforts to slip away unnoticed. "Hey, Sui! Ren! Want to join us?" he panted out in time with Bankotsu's rhythm.

Renkotsu stood there speechless as he had no idea what to say especially when their leader paused and looked over at them.

Suikotsu, however, had no problem replying. "While we appreciate your generous offer, Jak, I'm sure Oo-Aniki would much rather have you all to himself. Besides, Ren and I were about to head back to our room as we have an early start to the day tomorrow. So if you don't mind, we'll go," he said as if this was an everyday occurrence.

"Okay..."

"Later then," Bankotsu said. He watched while the claw-bearer did his best to keep Renkotsu from beating a hasty retreat back to their room. Shaking his head, he quickly picked up where he had left off, much to Jakotsu's delight.

888

They were halfway to their destination, when Bankotsu urged Ginkotsu and claw-bearer forward so he could explain their roles in the upcoming mission. That left Renkotsu to trail along with the cross-dresser much to his annoyance. 

Jakotsu sighed happily like a lovesick girl for the umpteenth time.

Renkotsu, finally taking the hint, said dryly, "What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing..." the cross-dresser replied airily.

Renkotsu shrugged and they walked on in silence for several paces.

Jakotsu sighed again and this time Renkotsu did as well, before the cross-dresser broke the silence. "Thanks, Ren..." he said softly.

"For what?" the fire-breather asked as he raised an eyebrow at him.

"For being so generous with your, ummm... I don't know..." the cross-dresser trailed off in mid-ramble as Renkotsu stared blankly at him.

Suddenly it dawned on him what Jakotsu was trying to say. "You're welcome, and just one word of advice, Jak. Learn to be bit less generous in your affections when it comes to others and you'll find Oo-Aniki'll more than make up the difference for you."

The cross-dresser regarded him thoughtfully while they walked along. "You think so?" he finally said.

"I know so."

The cross-dresser giggled. "You sound just like Sui!"

Renkotsu chuckled. "Well, Sui does know what he's talking about."

"Yeah... And thanks, Ren!"

The fire-breather smiled. "You're welcome."

Resisting the urge to hug him, Jakotsu merely smiled in return. They walked along in companionable silence until Bankotsu called the cross-dresser forward; leaving Renkotsu alone to wonder what was going on. However, he did not have long to ponder the situation for the claw-bearer quickly fell back.

"What's going on, Sui?" 

"Oo-Aniki wanted me and Gin to go and take out the daimyo's guards, but that's something Jak's better suited to doing. I can see how Oo-Aniki wants you both to start working with us on solo missions, but I also can see he's not sure yet how to play to our strengths, especially since he's still trying to figure yours out. And judging from what I can see of your battle skills, I have the feeling you're the one who's going to wind up going in with Jak."

"Great..." Renkotsu sighed. 

"He's not that bad to work with, Ren, and besides, since you spoke to him about Oo-Aniki getting jealous of all the attention he's been giving out to the rest of us, he's barely looked twice at you," Suikotsu said and the fire-breather nodded. "So what did you two talk about?"

Renkotsu chuckled. "It's funny you should mention that, because that's exactly what we talked about."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. I just pointed out again that he should pay more attention to Oo-Aniki and less to the rest of us and things'll be fine."

"Good move, Ren," Suikotsu said, patting him on the back. "I think you'll do well here in the long run if you can keep up that kind of reasoning."

"Thanks." Renkotsu grinned. 

"You're welcome. I guess we'll finalize things at dinner tonight as we're nearly there. Then with a good night's sleep, we'll be all set for tomorrow's mission."

"Sounds like a plan to me and speaking of which, I believe it's my turn to see Oo-Aniki."

888

Bankotsu rolled over in the futon, and propping his head up with his hand, he looked over at his paramour. Jakotsu was lying there, looking happier than Bankotsu ever remembered him looking after a bit of fun. "Why so happy?" he asked while he gently stroked the side of Jakotsu's face.

The cross-dresser's smile broadened. "I was just thinking about something..."

"Yeah...? What?"

"Ummm..." Jakotsu looked away unsure of how to put his feelings into words. 

Bankotsu relaxed and snuggled up against Jakotsu the way his paramour often did with him. "Take your time..." he murmured softly into Jakotsu's chest.

"Well... I was just thinking about what Ren and Sui said to me." He looked down at his lover as Bankotsu shifted to look up at him.

"Yeah? What'd they say?"

"Well... they both said I've been too generous with my affections towards them... And that I should pay more attention to you cuz it makes you sad. I'm sorry if I upset you..." the cross-dresser said softly.

"It's okay. I know you don't mean it."

"You do?" Jakotsu said, and there was no mistaking the surprise he felt for it was clearly heard in his voice. 

"Yeah... So what else did they say?"

"Well... Ren said if I paid more attention to you, you'd give me extra loving in return." Jakotsu giggled. "And he was right! You did give me extra special loving!" He giggled again, while holding Bankotsu close.

Bankotsu chuckled. "I thought I always gave you extra special loving..."

"You do, but this time it was extra special as you tasted so yummy and when we nookied it didn't hurt one bit."

"It didn't?" Bankotsu was a bit taken aback by that. "Wait..." He frowned. "Why didn't you tell me I hurt you?"

"Ummm... I don't know... I didn't think that I should." Jakotsu shrugged. "Besides, it's a good pain especially when you like someone a lot..." the cross-dresser trailed off softly. 

"Yeah... well, I ummm... don't want to hurt you cuz I like you too, so ummm, next time tell me okay, cuz maybe we could try another way that won't hurt so much..." Bankotsu said just as softly.

"Okay..." the cross-dresser said "I promise I will."

"Good." Bankotsu reluctantly moved out of his paramour's arms and got up. He padded over to the paper lantern and blew out the candle, before returning, and slipping back into the futon. Snuggling up to Jakotsu, he kissed him, and said, "We'd better go to sleep as we have to get up early tomorrow."

"Oh yeah... Goodnight, Aniki-chan, sleep well."

"You too, Sweetness."

Jakotsu did just that. He drifted off to sleep, happy in the knowledge that, for once, being generous had better results than he ever expected.

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "H" is for Hope.**_


	8. H is for Hope

Hope

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _is based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section over at .) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does! **_

_FYI: Tattsuke-bakama is the type of hakama Bankotsu is seen wearing. In fact, all of the Shichinintai who chose to wear hakama wear this type as they were worn by the military because of their ease of movement. _

_A furoshiki is a wrapping cloth, like the one Sango uses to carry her things around in._

_Takoyaki are fried octopus balls. _

_An obiage is a pretty silk scarf-like sash that peeks out the top of one's obi, when dressed in formally in a kimono; it's not worn with an informal yukata. If you are familiar with "Ruroni Kenshin," the character Kaoru, when dressed in her "street-wear," wears one. _

888

"**H" is for Hope**

Jakotsu wandered the marketplace, looking for the perfect gift for Bankotsu. The others were also there, taking the time to enjoy themselves, and spend a bit of the earnings from their latest mission on various trinkets and necessities. The cross-dresser, however, had something different in mind. He was busy looking for a present to give Bankotsu; one he hoped would convey exactly how he felt about their leader.

While the cross-dresser knew Bankotsu had some feelings for him, he was unsure if it was merely friendship, and the fun they had shared in and out of the futon was simply because there were no girls around to get in the way, or it was, as he had hoped, love. So he wandered around by himself, looking at the various merchandise, in the hope of finding the perfect gift. Several times he thought he had found it, only to have something else catch his eyes. Just when he thought all hope was lost, he spotted it.

Jakotsu quickly set down the armguards he was holding and walked over to the merchant selling kimono. He searched the bamboo racks for the flash of white that had caught his eye. There, hidden amongst the other kimono, was a simple white kimono done in the peasant style with tightly fitting sleeves and a bit of indigo spreading out across the left shoulder. _It's perfect! And it'll go great with the new armor Aniki-chan is having made._

Smiling sweetly at the merchant, Jakotsu said as casually as he could, "How much for this one?"

"Twenty mon."

"And if I wanted a pair of hakama too?"

"Add another thirty mon and they're yours."

The cross-dresser blinked as he tried to figure out much he would owe. He desperately counted on his fingers, holding up both hands as if they would somehow tell him the correct answer. While the merchant was starting to wonder how much he could cheat the cross-dresser out of, salvation arrived when Jakotsu looked up and saw Suikotsu.

"Sui! Come're!"

The claw-bearer looked around for several minutes, and spotting his friend, he came over to him. "Hey, Jak. Whatchya doing?"

"I ummm... saw this kimono and I thought it'd be perfect for Aniki-chan." Jakotsu fingered the soft cottony folds of the kimono.

"I see... I think he'd like one very much too." Suikotsu smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu smiled back and Suikotsu nodded. "I want to get him some hakama too, since he ripped the ones he's got now."

"Good idea." Turning to the merchant, Suikotsu asked, "How much?"

"Twenty mon for the kimono and another thirty for the hakama."

Suikotsu turned to Jakotsu and said, "That's not unreasonable... but I think Oo-Aniki would be a lot more comfortable if you got him a pair of tattsuke-bakama instead."

"Yeah...? But these are so pretty..."

"Jak, those would look better on you because you're taller." Suikotsu smiled.

"Yeah? But I don't like covering up my legs..." He sighed. "Okay. So how much for these?" Jakotsu walked over to a pair of white cotton tapered-legged hakama and held them up._ I hope they don't cost too much..._

The merchant smiled nervously when Suikotsu folded his arms across his chest and stared at him just as expectantly as the cross-dresser did. Coughing to hide his discomfiture, the merchant replied, "How about forty five for the set?"

"Thirty five," Suikotsu said. "My wife wishes to buy her brother a present and forty five is a bit much, especially for such simple garments."

The merchant eyed Jakotsu while he thought it over. He desperately wanted to ask if Jakotsu was really a woman as he had his suspicions, but something in the way the claw-bearer kept eying him, made him keep silent about it. Instead, he agreed to Suikotsu's price just to get them both out of there. "Fine, thirty five it is..."

Jakotsu was delighted and with some help from Suikotsu, he counted the coins and handed them over. After Suikotsu paid the merchant another ten mon for a furoshiki, Jakotsu walked away happily clutching Bankotsu's present to his chest. Suikotsu left with him, his eyes bright with amusement for Jakotsu had unwittingly bought their leader a gift that signified his acceptance of Bankotsu as his future husband. What the claw-bearer had found even more amusing, Renkotsu had told him earlier he had seen Bankotsu buying his paramour a gift more suited to a future wife than a friend even though the cross-dresser would love it just as much.

"Hey, Sui?" Jakotsu said, pulling the claw-bearer from his thoughts.

"Hnnn?"

"Can you...ummm... keep a secret?"

The claw-bearer nodded. "Yes... What's wrong, Jak? You're not sick or hurt, are you?"

"No!" the cross-dresser cried. "I just wanted to tell someone why I got this for Aniki-chan... and well, ummm..." Jakotsu trailed off helplessly while he struggled to voice his hope.

"Okay, as long as you're alright, go ahead and tell me your secret," Suikotsu said.

They walked over to the large ginkgo tree that stood in the middle of the marketplace. Surprisingly, no one else had thought to rest in its shade. The two of them sat down, and Suikotsu waited patiently until Jakotsu had worked up the courage to tell him what was wrong.

Jakotsu, meanwhile, played with the ends of the knot used to tie the furoshiki closed. Just when the claw-bearer figured he was not going to tell him a thing, the cross-dresser said softly, "I ummm..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Suikotsu said just as softly.

"It's okay; I need to tell someone..." Jakotsu looked over at him and Suikotsu nodded for him to continue. "Well, ummm... Aniki-chan always used to buy little gifts and stuff for me, but he hasn't been doing it lately..."

"He hasn't? I'm sorry, Jak, I never noticed. Normally I'd ask Ban about it, if it were me in your place, but it's poor manners to inquire about getting gifts." At Jakotsu's blank look he added, "Ask about stuff like that."

"Oh... yeah." The cross-dresser smiled. "At first I thought it was because we never seemed to have enough money and all... and then after a while I thought maybe Aniki-chan didn't want to cuz he didn't want to have to buy everyone a gift and all..."

"It's possible that's the reason why."

Jakotsu nodded. "So I didn't really worry about, but then he started paying all this attention to all the stupid girls we come across..." he said peevishly.

"And you're worried he doesn't like you any more?" Suikotsu asked.

"Yeah... And I thought if I got him something nice he'd see that I still like him... a lot..." Jakotsu trailed off so softly Suikotsu wasn't sure he had heard him correctly.

"Yeah...?"

"Yeah..." Jakotsu sighed. "I really hope he still likes me, Sui, as I don't think I could stand it if he didn't... That's why I want to give him this gift so badly it hurts, but he told me he wanted to be alone. What if he's really gone off with some girl?" The cross-dresser blinked back his tears.

Suikotsu patted his friend's knee sympathetically. "I'm sure he didn't. Ren told me he saw him wandering around the marketplace."

"I hope not..." Jakotsu said tartly. "I mean I don't care if he's shopping for stuff, but if he's looking for girls..." he finished darkly.

"I doubt it. I saw some pretty village girl making ox eyes at him before and he completely ignored her."

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu brightened, as he clung to the hope that maybe Bankotsu really did like him better than any stupid girl they came across.

The claw-bearer smiled "Yeah..."

"So you think when I give him this, Aniki-chan'll see that I like him a lot?"_ I hope you say "yes."_

"Most definitely." Suikotsu chuckled and Jakotsu quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What's so funny?"

"You do know that gift is something a girl would give to her future husband?"

"No..." The cross-dresser blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. My Sedako-chan made me a lovely pair when we became formally engaged. She also made me a kimono to go with them and I wore them on our wedding day."

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu giggled.

"Yup!" Suikotsu grinned, pleased that Jakotsu was feeling better. "I'd probably still be wearing them to this day if I hadn't ruined them while I was_ him..._" he said ruefully.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sui... I know how much she meant to you," the cross-dresser said softly and Suikotsu nodded. "Ummm, Sui, do you think Aniki-chan knows what kind of a present this is? What if he doesn't like it cuz he thinks I want to get married?"

Suikotsu gave his friend a funny look and said, "Jak, I don't think you have anything to worry about there... men don't usually get married to each other."

"Oh yeah..." the cross-dresser said with a laugh. "I'm being stupid again, hunh?" he said sheepishly.

Suikotsu chuckled. "No, not stupid, just cute as Oo-Aniki would say," he said, ruffling the cross-dresser's hair.

"Oooh!!" Jakotsu said impishly. "Does this mean you love me too, Sui?" he asked as he leaned into him.

"Don't get your hopes up too high..." Suikotsu gently chided, pushing the cross-dresser away.

Jakotsu giggled. Sitting up, he stuck his tongue out in reply.

"Hey, Sweetness, Sui!" Bankotsu called out. He walked over to them.

"Aniki-chan!!" Jakotsu waved.

"Whatchya doing?" Bankotsu said, flopping down next to his paramour, while being careful not to damage the bundle, he was holding.

"Nothing... just sitting here, resting. Why?" the cross-dresser said while he eyed the small furoshiki that his lover was busy pretending was not there.

"Oh no reason... it's just that I was looking all over for you."

"Really?" Jakotsu smiled happily.

Before the cross-dresser could go on, Suikotsu coughed. "If you two will excuse me, I promised Ren and Gin I'd meet them over at the food vendor. Ren said saw they had takoyaki there."

"Okay... Tell them and anyone else you see, I got us some rooms for tonight at the inn," Bankotsu said.

"Will do," Suikotsu said as he stood up to leave. He briefly met his leader's gaze, before winking at the cross-dresser if to say, "I hope it works out for you," and without another word he disappeared into the crowd of villages that roamed the marketplace.

Jakotsu sighed.

"What's wrong, Sweetness?"

"Nothing... I, ummm... got you something," Jakotsu said. He thrust the furoshiki, he had been holding, towards his lover. "I hope you like it..."

"I'm sure I will... and thank you." Bankotsu smiled. "I, ummm, got you something too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... I'm hoping you'll like it too. I'm just sorry I couldn't find it in purple, cuz I know how much you like that color," Bankotsu said, handing over the small bundle, he was carrying.

"Thanks...The color doesn't matter, Aniki-chan... I know I'll like it no matter what! So, can I open it?"

"Sure, as long as I can open mine too."

Jakotsu nodded. Smiling shyly at his lover, the cross-dresser carefully opened the bundle. Inside, he found a soft grey silk obiage. "It's beautiful, Aniki-chan..." he whispered as he draped the scarf-like sash around his neck.

Bankotsu looked up and said, "You're supposed to wear it around your waist... ummm...yeah..." He sighed at the look on his paramour's face. "Never mind, you don't wear your obi the way you should for you to wear it properly... besides, I like it better this way, it's different, like you are." Bankotsu grinned.

The cross-dresser kissed his lover's cheek. "I'm glad..." he said shyly. "So do you like your gift?" _I hope so..._

"I love everything you give me, Sweetness." The young leader of the Shichinintai smiled while he opened the furoshiki. He frowned, and held up the kimono. "Sweetness, this must have cost you a fortune..." _I hope they didn't cheat you too badly._

"Really?" Jakotsu smiled. "Nope... And Sui did help me count out the coins, so I know I gave him the right amount."

"Good..." Bankotsu handed him the kimono and smiled. "And you got me new hakama too? Thanks!"

"Yeah... those are all ripped and it wouldn't do for you to be walking around like that." Jakotsu stuck his fingers in the hole on Bankotsu's knee and giggled.

Bankotsu felt his cheeks heating up. "Yeah, I know. And I can't wait to change into this."

Jakotsu's smile lit up his face. "Yeah...?"

"Yup! I just wish I could have found you a nicer kimono too..."

"Don't worry about it, Aniki-chan. This one is fine." The cross-dresser ran his hand along his right thigh, smoothing the cottony folds of his yukata. _Though I hope you still like the way I look in it..._

"You sure?" Bankotsu asked and Jakotsu nodded in reply. "Anyway I was kinda hoping you were finished buying stuff as I'd like to go back to the inn for a while." A wicked grin slowly spread across his face.

Jakotsu giggled happily. "You know, I was kinda hoping you'd say that..." he said as he stood up to go. Holding out his hand, Bankotsu took it and the cross-dresser helped haul him to his feet.

As they made their way over to the inn, Bankotsu slid his arm around the cross-dresser's waist, letting his hand fall to cup Jakotsu's buttocks. Throwing an arm around his lover's shoulders, Jakotsu giggled merrily when he realized that his hope had become a certainty...

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "I" is for Impatient.**_


	9. I is for Impatient

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**I" is for Impatient**

"Can't you hurry things up, Ren?" Jakotsu complained.

"No..." The fire-breather hissed back. "And stop being so damned impatient. You know as well as I do that the daimyo has to go over every last detail to make sure he's got the deal hammered out correctly." Renkotsu sighed softly, pinching the top of his nose. "I told you last night, I have the feeling he thinks we're cheating him or something."

"I know... but we've been away two days longer than expected and I want to go home already."

"I'd also love to be on my way home." Renkotsu said wistfully. "I miss Sui just as much as you miss Ban and I'll bet they're are starting to get worried, but there's nothing either of us can do about it. The daimyo's going to take his time with this no matter what we say or do, so we might as well resign ourselves to it." The fire-breather grinned. "Just be happy he hasn't asked you to escort his daughter into town again."

"Please, don't remind me!" the cross-dresser hissed. "Ren, it was the worst experience of my life."

"Yeah...?" the fire-breather chuckled.

"Yeah! The stupid bitch hung all over me the whole time and she's just lucky her father sent some of his men with us and Aniki-chan wants this job, or else I'd have cut her up into lil pieces," Jakotsu said peevishly. 

"Really? Although, I wouldn't have minded spending the day with her, she's rather pretty-"

"Are we talking about the same daughter?" Jakotsu blinked and a look of horror spread over his features. "He doesn't have more than one does he?"

"Relax... As far as I know there's only the one, and just because she's older than you, doesn't mean she's hideous..." Renkotsu chuckled as the cross-dresser frowned. "Besides, you should be more careful about what you say. I don't want have to tell Oo-Aniki we lost this job because you insulted the daimyo."

"Oh please!" Jakotsu rolled his eyes. "I know how play nicely with girls..." he said sarcastically. "But that doesn't mean I enjoy it!" he finished peevishly much to Renkotsu's amusement. Getting up off the veranda, Jakotsu impatiently paced around the little courtyard, while they waited to be summoned back to the daimyo's presence. 

Renkotsu spent the time leaning against one of the posts that held up the roof of the covered porch. Arms folded neatly across his chest, he watched the cross-dresser's impatient pacing while he wondered what the big hurry was to get home. "You didn't have a fight with Oo-Aniki before we left, did you?" he asked.

"No..." The cross-dresser grinned. "Me and Aniki-chan had the best nookie ever before I left. I was just worried about Aki," he finished softly.

"What's wrong with your cat?"

"Sui said she going to have kittens... but the woman in the village I got her from said shewas just a kitten." He sighed angrily. "I suppose that's what I get for trusting a woman..." 

The fir-breather chuckled. "She probably didn't know the cat was knocked up, Jak. Besides, I'm sure you saved the cat's life when you bought her. That was a pretty poor village we had passed through and that woman might have had to kill her for food if you didn't give her enough money to buya few days' worth of rice."

"Yeah...I guess so." Jakotsu sighed. "And Aniki-chan did tell me when I found about the kittens that no good deed goes unpunished," he said ruefully. "Still, she's not a bad lil cat..." He smiled.

"True... You know, it is rather funny how she keeps bringing Kyo all those dead mice." Renkotsu laughed.

Jakotsu laughed along with him, his impatience temporarily forgotten. "Yeah! Thank Kami-sama he finds it cute, or I'm sure he'd have eaten her too by now."

"Probably," Renkotsu said. He was happy to have steered the conversation away from the dangerous topic of the daimyo's daughter. To keep it there, he added, "So what are you going to do with all the kittens?"

"I don't know... I wanted to keep them, but Aniki-chan said I couldn't as Aki'll probably get knocked up again. I guess I'll bring them into the village and give them away or something..." Jakotsu sighed. "I just wish I was home."

"I know," Renkotsu said sympathetically. "But we have a job to do here and I want you to concentrate on that. Cats have been having kittens since the gods first created them, so I wouldn't worry too much, and besides, Sui's helped Rika-san and her daughter deliver plenty of babies so I'm sure he has enough midwifery skills to help Aki with her kittens."

"You think?"

"I know."

"Thanks..." Jakotsu smiled. "Are you sure you don't want one of the kittens...?" he asked impishly.

"No, because I don't want Oo-Aniki yelling at me, remember he told us you couldn't get around his prohibition against keeping the kittens by giving them to us? In other words, if you can't have one; we couldn't either."

"Oh yeah..." 

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of a pair of palace guards, summoning them back to the daimyo's presence. Renkotsu was pleased Jakotsu had put aside his impatience long enough to conclude the terms of agreement.

888

"How much longer until we get home?" Jakotsu asked impatiently.

"Two more days, now go to sleep," Renkotsu said softly as he rolled over in his futon.

"Oh... Can't we get there any quicker?"

"No. It took us three days to get there and no matter how much you wish it otherwise, it's going to take three days to get home. So the quicker you go to sleep, the earlier we'll be up tomorrow and the farther we'll get before nightfall. Trust me, Jak; I want to be home as much as you do."

"Yeah...?"

"Yeah. Now go to sleep!"

"Okay..." Jakotsu rolled over onto his side. "Good night, Ren..." he said softly.

"'Night, Jak. Sleep well."

"You too..."

888

"Aniki-chan!" Jakotsu ran towards his lover who met him halfway.

"Sweetness!" Bankotsu said, picking his paramour up and, holding him close.

Jakotsu giggled. "Put me down, Aniki-chan!" 

"But I missed you so much," Bankotsu teased, sounding very much like his paramour. He set him back on his feet amid much laughter from the cross-dresser.

"I missed you too. I just never knew you were as impatient to nookie as I am," Jakotsu giggled.

Bankotsu grinned. "Well, you were a week late..."

The cross-dresser sighed. "I know...Stupid daimyo took forever to agree to your terms... So, ummm..."

Bankotsu laughed. "No kittens yet."

"Yeah... I wish she'd hurry up and have them already; especially since Sui said they'd be here by the time I got home..."

"Maybe she was just waiting for you to come home."

"Yeah...?"

"Yup!"

888

"Sui, why didn't Aki have her kittens yet? I've been home for a couple of days now and I'm tired of waiting," Jakotsu whined impatiently. "All she does is lay in her basket and sleep. She doesn't even want to eat and you said that was a sign she was ready to have them."

Suikotsu, who had been gently examining the cross-dresser's cat, paused and looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Jak..."

"What?" Jakotsu stroked the cat's head and she let out a loud purr.

"Aki isn't going to have any kittens."

"Hunh? But you said..."

"I know... and she was carrying kittens, Jak."

"What do you mean, Sui... There's no kittens in her basket and I don't think she ate them..."

"I don't think she'd eat them either..." Suikotsu sighed. "She's very sick, Jak, that's why she's been sleeping so much."

"She's not gonna...?"

The claw-bearer nodded. "I'm sorry, Jak. I think it would be kinder if we put her out of her misery."

Jakotsu looked up at him as he willed himself not to cry.

"I think she tried to have her kittens, Jak, and the first one got stuck inside her and they all died. I'm very sorry, Jak, really I am. If I knew more about cats, maybe I could have helped her..."

"It's okay, Sui..." Jakotsu said as he choked back his tears.

888

"Let's go see if we can find you another cat in the village, Sweetness," Bankotsu said.

"Uh-hunh..." Jakotsu said softly. "I don't feel like going, Aniki-chan..."

"Oh... well maybe later."

"Yeah, maybe..." the cross-dresser said listlessly while he sat there, forlornly staring out at the courtyard.

It had been a month since the loss of his cat. While the subsequent mission had temporarily taken his mind off Aki, in the two weeks since their return, Jakotsu never once asked Bankotsu to get another one. His lack of impatience in the matter worried his lover as he had never seen him this upset over anything before. 

When Bankotsu gently squeezed his paramour's shoulder, before leaving, and the tight little smile he got in response worried him just as much as the cross-dresser's lack of impatience in the matter. He took off in search of the claw-bearer for he was desperate for answers.

"Hey, Sui!" Bankotsu called out when he spotted the claw-bearer puttering around his herb garden.

"Oo-Aniki? Is something wrong?" Suikotsu asked as he rose to his feet.

"Yeah... Jak's still moping around and when I asked him if he wanted to go into town and look for a new cat, he said he didn't want to." Bankotsu frowned.

Suikotsu resisted the urge to quirk an eyebrow at him in surprise._ I thought you didn't want another cat... _ "He's probably still mourning the loss of Aki." The claw-bearer wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

"Yeah... but he never got that way after Kyo ate his other cats."

"True... But then none of those cats were having kittens. Plus he never bought any of those cats. How did he put it again?" Suikotsu paused while he thought it over. "'They followed him home, so can he keep them?'" The claw-bearer smiled as his young leader made a face.

"Yeah... But this is different, Sui, he's barely eating and he doesn't want to do anything..."

"Missing the nookie are we?" The claw-bearer chuckled when Bankotsu snorted in annoyance. "Seriously, Oo-Aniki, people mourn differently and sometimes that way over different things. You know as well as I do, Jak would mourn your loss far more than say Kyo's for example."

"I know that..."

"I know you do. Just give him time, and if he's still moping around a week later, I'll talk to him."

"Okay..."

888

Jakotsu stood in the doorway of his lover's study, arms neatly folded across his chest, impatiently tapping his foot as he tried getting Bankotsu's attention. "Anikiiiii-chaaaan!"

Bankotsu looked up from his ledger, his annoyed expression melting into a genuine smile. "Yeah?"

"You told me this morning we'd go into town. It's now this afternoon."

"It is?"

"Yeah! What's taking you so long?" the cross-dresser whined. 

"Unfortunately I have an error here and I can't find it... Can't we go tomorrow?"

"No! I want to go now! You promised me we could," Jakotsu said petulantly. 

Bankotsu sighed. "I did, didn't I? Well... I guess this can wait." He shut his ledger and got up.

"Yup! Now hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Bankotsu said, hurrying over to his paramour. For once the cross-dresser's impatient whining sounded like the sweetest of love songs and Bankotsu found he was just as eager to indulge him as Jakotsu was to be indulged.

The cross-dresser impatiently grabbed his lover's hand and pulled him along the inner corridors of their home. They sped past an amused Renkotsu who muttered, "Rabbits," and chuckled softly while he shook his head at them. He also made a mental note to tell Suikotsu the cross-dresser was back to his old self again and to be on the look out for trampled plants in his garden.

888

Slowing down to a walk as they neared the village, Jakotsu clung affectionately to Bankotsu's arm. His impatience to get there was tempered by their need to catch their breath, and yet, Jakotsu still felt afraid that his lover would change his mind about the whole thing. "Hurry, Aniki-chan!" He tugged playfully on his lover's arm.

Bankotsu chuckled and quickened his pace. "What're you in such a hurry to get?"

"Ummm..."

"Come on, Sweetness, you can tell me." 

"A cat...?"

"You're impatient for a cat?" Bankotsu laughed.

"Yeah..." the cross-dresser admitted sheepishly.

"Okay, Silly, let's go get you a cat."

"Really?" The cross-dresser looked happier than he had in weeks. 

"Yeah... So have you thought up a name for your new cat?"

"Yup! I think I'm going to call him 'Kibaya.'"

"You're going to call your new cat 'Impatient?'" Bankotsu bit his lip, while trying hard not to laugh.

"Yeah... In honor of how impatient you were after Aki died to get me another one and how impatient I am to get it now." The cross-dresser giggled.

"Good choice."

"Thanks..." Jakotsu kissed his lover's cheek. "Now let's hurry up!" he said impatiently.

"Okay, okay..." Bankotsu said as they quickened their pace. _You have no idea how impatiently I've waited for this day..._

888

_**Author's end note: "J" is for Jealousy.**_


	10. J is for Jealousy

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**J" is for Jealousy**

Jakotsu ran through the castle in a murderous rage, slashing out indiscriminately at anyone he saw. He was enraged at finding Bankotsu, who should have been helping to secure the place, in the arms of some woman while jealousy over where his leader's affections lay consumed him. While any men he had encountered tempered his ire by the workout they gave him when fighting back, the women were a different matter. Their terrified faces only served to increase his wrath and he took a perverse pleasure in sadistically prolonging their agony as he cut them up and watched them bleed. If they were so foolish as to try to seduce him into sparing their lives, he made them wish they had not bothered to try. Suikotsu eventually found him with one such woman, and the claw-bearer quickly dispatched her much to Jakotsu's disgust.

"Everything okay, Jak?" Suikotsu asked in the same calm tones he would have used if they were at home. He was itching to wash the blood off himself but something about the cold hard stare the cross-dresser leveled at him, made him pause. "Jak…?"

Jakotsu shook his head and Suikotsu could see he was calming down, and coming back to himself. "What's wrong…?" he softly prompted.

"Nothing…" Jakotsu said, a touch of peevishness permeating his exhaustion. 

"You sure?"

"Yeah…" Jakotsu said. He calmly bent down and grabbed the dead woman's foot. Dragging her behind him, he said, "Let's go…"

"Okay."

888

Jakotsu glared at the young woman who knelt to serve him dinner. The more he stared coldly at her, the more flustered she became because her fear made her clumsy and careless. Just when he was about to slap her for spilling his tea, Bankotsu called her over to him. The cross-dresser watched while his lover flirted with her, calming her down, before sending her over to Mukotsu. The wave of jealousy that washed over him was so strong; he crushed the delicate porcelain tea cup he had just taken a sip from. The pain from the hot liquid and the cuts on his palm brought the cross-dresser back to himself. He stared down at his hand as it throbbed and it was several minutes before he realized everyone was fussing over him. 

"Hunh?" Jakotsu looked up blankly at his lover.

"Are you okay?" Bankotsu asked, reaching out to take his paramour's bloody hand. 

"Yeah… Stupid cup broke…"

"Oh..." Bankotsu looked worriedly over at the claw-bearer.

"Here, let me see, Jak…" Swallowing hard at the sight of blood, Suikotsu carefully examined the cross-dresser's hand. "Let's go outside and wash your hand. I want to make sure all the bits of porcelain are out of it and then I'll bind it for you. I'm sorry; it's going to hurt as I have nothing for the burns. Hmmm… Girl?" The claw-bearer beckoned the serving girl over. 

"Yes…?" she timidly replied as Jakotsu was beginning to scare her more than the rest of them combined. 

"Go to the kitchen and see if there's any honey and bring it back and some fresh linen too," he sad softly.

"Okay…" she said, before leaving to do as she was bidden. 

888

Renkotsu heard them long before he found them outside in the courtyard. 

Bankotsu was standing there, holding up a paper lantern in one hand and the cross-dresser's injured hand in the other, while Suikotsu poured a bucket of water over it. 

Jakotsu let out a torrent of curses as the pain shot up his arm. "Damn it, Sui!" he yelled. He tried jerking his hand out of Bankotsu's vice-like grip.

"Jak, I need to flush your wounds so I can make sure all the pieces of porcelain are out. I've heard a story about a woman dying from a similar wound."

"Serves her right!" the cross-dresser said irritably.

"Sweetness!"

Jakotsu glared at his lover in silence.

The fire-breather walked over to them and coughed softly. "You wanted this, Sui?" he held out the linen the girl gave him.

The claw-bearer looked up. "Thanks, Ren. I'd appreciate it if you could tear it up into bandages."

"Will do," the fire-breather said as he set to work.

Jakotsu tried unsuccessfully to get Bankotsu to lower his hand. He still refused to say anything more as he did not trust himself to speak, especially to his lover, so he sat there, bristling with anger.

"Jak, you're lucky that all you've got is a shallow wound, as I thought I was going to have to stitch your palm. Thankfully you have several little cuts, rather than a huge gash like I feared," Suikotsu said, soaking a piece of linen in the honey. Taking it out, he removed the excess honey, before wrapping it around the cross-dresser's injured hand.

Jakotsu watched the claw-bearer wad up some of the linen Renkotsu handed him, before placing it in his injured palm. Suikotsu held it there, putting some gentle pressure on the wound. Once he was satisfied that the bleeding had lessened, he bound the wound, after washing the honey off his hands. 

"I think you should go lie down for a while, Jak."

"And I'll bring you your dinner. Did you find a room you liked yet, Sweetness?"

Jakotsu looked up at his lover and shook his head. The concern he saw in Bankotsu's eyes was very pleasing for it quieted the little voice in the cross-dresser's head that insisted his lover cared more about the girls they came across than him. Still, he had his nagging doubts and he dealt with them by having a tightly controlled possessive streak when it came to their leader. Lashing out at women, whenever they were on a mission, also helped for it gave him a place to channel his frustrations and the poor soldiers he casually raped eased his insecurities about being desirable. 

"You can stay with me if you want…?" The slight hint of uncertainty he heard in Bankotsu's voice did wonders for banishing the cross-dresser's jealousy away. Jakotsu found he was even able to ignore the sunny smile Bankotsu flashed at the serving girl, who had been sent to see if everything was okay. For the first time since they had taken over the castle for a rival daimyo, Jakotsu felt happy and secure in the knowledge that Bankotsu really cared for him.

"Okay…" the cross-dresser said as he gave his lover a shy little smile.

"Good!" Bankotsu said. He grinned at his paramour and Jakotsu's own smile broadened because he knew he was in for a bit of fun later that night. 

888

"How's your hand doing, Sweetness?" Bankotsu asked when he sat down on the futon his paramour was lying on. 

"It still hurts, but I'll live," Jakotsu said ruefully while he played with the end of Bankotsu's braid with his good hand. 

Bankotsu gently stroked the side of his paramour's face. "Uh, Sweetness…?"

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Wrong?" Jakotsu stared blankly at his lover. 

"Yes, wrong. You seemed very tense at dinner and that's not like you. Normally you're very happy after a mission goes well. And this one went so well, it was like a stroll in a pleasure garden." Bankotsu grinned, although it quickly faded when he noticed the cross-dresser's sullen expression. "You sure there's nothing bothering you?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are you lying there, sulking?"

"I'm not sulking…" Jakotsu said peevishly. He turned his head away and pouted.

Bankotsu reached out and gently turned his paramour's face to look at him. "Yes, you are. You're acting worse than you did that time Kyo ate all the dango and you didn't get any. Now, are you gonna tell me what's wrong or am I gonna have to tickle it out of you?" Bankotsu teased.

Despite the fact he wanted to hold onto to his anger with both hands, Jakotsu felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards in a brief smile.

"Well…?" Bankotsu laid his hand on the cross-dresser's stomach, chuckling softly to himself, when he felt it tense. "I'm waiting, Sweetness…"

Jakotsu closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm mad at you…" he said softly.

"Why? What'd I do?" Bankotsu asked. He was clearly at loss as to what he did to upset his paramour, and judging by Jakotsu's behavior, it had to be something serious. 

The cross-dresser opened his eyes and studied his lover's face. He wanted to gently stroke Bankotsu's cheek, coaxing his lover closer and closer until he kissed him, but the hurt he had felt when he caught Bankotsu with a girl stayed his hand. 

"Sweetness…?" Bankotsu prompted.

Jakotsu sighed. "I'm mad at you cuz of before…"

"Before?" The young leader of the Shichinintai quirked his eyebrow as he tried to figure what he did.

"Yeah… you know, with that stupid girl…"Jakotsu trailed off softly.

"Stupid girl…?" Bankotsu repeated as it hit him. _Damn it!_ "You saw that?"

"Yeah…"

"She was begging for her life."

"So did all the bitches I found, but you didn't see me kissing them!" Jakotsu said tartly.

"No… I suppose not, but you should have stuck around, Sweetness, as you would have seen me kill her."

Jakotsu shrugged.

"You're not jealous of her, are you?" Bankotsu said softly.

Jakotsu made a bitter little sound of disgust. "Me? Jealous of some stupid bitch?"

"Yeah… It's the only explanation I can think of."

"Oh…"

Bankotsu pushed Jakotsu's hair out of his eyes and he smiled at him. "You shouldn't be, Sweetness… It's you I love."

"Well I feel like you don't when you do shit like that," Jakotsu said peevishly.

"I'm sorry…" Bankotsu's hand slipped down the side of Jakotsu's face to gently cup his paramour's cheek.

"Yeah…?"

"Yeah… I wish I could make it up to you."

Jakotsu flashed him a genuine smile. "I know of a good way…" he said saucily, his ill humor forgotten as his relief that Bankotsu still loved him threatened to overwhelm him. 

"What about your hand?"

"Ummm… there are other ways to have fun, Aniki-chan." The cross-dresser giggled.

"Oh yeah?" Bankotsu teased.

"Yeah… You could always face me…" the cross-dresser said shyly. "We've never nookied face to face before and since my hand's hurt…"

"Our usual way won't work," Bankotsu finished for him.

"Yeah… But if you don't want to, I'll understand."

"No… I don't mind… I just hope I don't hurt you."

Jakotsu smiled. "I'm sure if we play around like we always do it shouldn't matter if I'm flat on my back or on my hands and knees…" He reached up with his good hand and pulled Bankotsu close for a kiss. Breaking it, he said, "This way I can see you…"

Bankotsu grinned. "Yeah… and I can see you too. I think we should try it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…" Bankotsu said softly, leaning in to kiss his paramour again. _If only you knew how jealous those village girls back home are of you, I'd bet you'd never feel this way again…_

Jakotsu deepened the kiss._ I love you so much, Aniki-chan…if only I was brave enough to tell you, then I'm sure you'd stop doing those things that make me mad with jealousy…_

888

Suikotsu and Renkotsu paused just outside the room their leader was sharing with his paramour. The claw-bearer had wanted to check on Jakotsu before retiring for the night, but the soft sounds of two people engaged in intimate activity assured him everything was fine.

"Come, Ren, I can change his bandage tomorrow."

"Yeah… It seems like everything's back to normal," the fire-breather said as they started to leave.

Suikotsu nodded. "My guess is, Jak either told him what was bothering him or Oo-Aniki figured it out."

Renkotsu chuckled as they headed to their rooms. "I'd say Oo-Aniki probably figured it out."

"Yeah, you're probably right judging by the sound of it." The claw-bearer smiled knowingly.

"Has this happened before?"

"Not that I can remember, Ren. It might of, but we just assumed Jak was tired, or he was wounded, or maybe he had picked a fight about something totally unrelated to cover up his feelings, and we took it at face value." Suikotsu shrugged. "It's hard to say; whenever Jak was troubled about something a bit of fun with Oo-Aniki always seemed to cheer him up."

The fire-breather nodded. "Yeah… wait …"

"What?"

"Maybe he's jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah," Renkotsu said. "Not jealous of Oo-Aniki, but jealous of anyone who gets close to him…" the fire-breather said thoughtfully. "After Oo-Aniki made me second-in-command, Jak got really pissy towards me. After first I thought it was because he got demoted, but then I realized Oo-Aniki was still treating him as his second-in-command, so that couldn't have been it. Then it hit me after I came home from negotiations with Oo-Aniki, that Jak was mad because I was spending time alone with Oo-Aniki. And no matter how many times I told him I don't like Oo-Aniki like that as well as insisted he doesn't give a rat's ass about me, Jak refused to see it. So I mentioned it to Oo-Aniki and that's when he started taking Jak with him instead of me, or sending me with Jak. I'll be damned as to why I never saw it earlier… but what could have set him off this time? We're all here…"

"The women…" Suikotsu said softly. "He's jealous of the women. Yes…" The claw-bearer looked over at Renkotsu. "The ones who didn't cower in fear-"

"Threw themselves at you," Renkotsu finished for him. 

"And that's why nine times out of ten he kills all the women so we have to do for ourselves."

"And the only time he doesn't is when Oo-Aniki specifically tells him not to…"

"Yeah… The big question is this, now that it seems Oo-Aniki has figured it out, what's he going to do about it?"

"You've got me there, Sui."

The claw-bearer nodded. He paused outside his room. "It could be a huge problem as Oo-Aniki's tastes do run towards women."

Renkotsu chuckled. "I'd say that was a good thing as otherwise I have the feeling we'd be on the receiving end of one Jak's jealous tirades. But why can't he see Oo-Aniki only has eyes for him and those girls are just a passing fancy?"

"Because being in love blinds you and makes you do stupid things…"

"You think he's in love with him?"

"Before today, I would have hesitated to say 'yes,' but now…? Now, I'd say he is."

"Hopefully Oo-Aniki figures that out before Jak does something really stupid," Renkotsu said. He yawned sleepily. "Anyway, I'd better get going, I've had a long night. Perhaps we can discuss this in the morning."

"Sure… Goodnight, Ren."

"Sleep well, Sui."

888

"It looks like they worked out their problems," Renkotsu said dryly.

They were on their way back to their home base, Bankotsu and the cross-dresser taking the lead. Their leader had his arm around his paramour and Jakotsu was happily leaning into him. Jakotsu would steal the occasional kiss, lending weight to Renkotsu's observation.

"Possibly, but I wouldn't count on it lasting," Suikotsu added.

"I have the feeling the next time Oo-Aniki comes across a pretty feminine face, the fireworks'll begin again, Ren," Mukotsu added. "If only Oo-Aniki would let me handle that problem for him…" The diminutive poisoner sighed. 

"Gesh, gesh, gesh… We'd have bigger problems." Ginkotsu chuckled.

"Oh yeah… But you're free to give Jak a helping hand next mission," Renkotsu said.

"I would, but he moves too damned fast so by the time I find them, they're usually dead," Mukotsu said unhappily.

"I'll see what I can do next time."

"Thanks, Ren…"

"You're welcome."

They walked along in companionable silence for a while, watching their leader and the cross-dresser flirt shamelessly with each other. Just when it looked like Bankotsu would call a halt to their progress and drag the cross-dresser off into the bushes for a bit of fun an argument broke out between them.

"I told you so," Suikotsu said smugly.

"Gesh, gesh…"

"Now what are they going on about?" Mukotsu said to no one in particular.

"Who knows?" Renkotsu shrugged.

"As long Jak's not flying off in a jealous rage, everthing'll be fine. Not that we have anything to worry about," Suikotsu said with a smile.

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing we're not women, and for another, Oo-Aniki hasn't shown any interest in any of us."

"And may the gods keep it that way," Renkotsu added.

"Geshi!"

"Yes… and may any women Oo-Aniki fancies be sent our way," Mukotsu chimed in.

"Oh yeah…"

888

_**Author's end note: "K" is for Kitty.**_


	11. K is for Kitty

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It'__s based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**K" is for Kitty**

Jakotsu lay there, half awake. He could feel the comforting sensations of someone looking after him; a soft hand on his pulse that moved to carefully check the IV in his hand, a few seconds later the cool hand laid itself against his forehead. Things grew interesting when the hand moved lower down, touching him clinically in the most intimate of places until a sharp pain brought him fully awake.

"Good morning, Sato-san," the nurse said cheerily as she continued her assault on the cross-dresser's nether-region. "I'm sorry, I know it's unpleasant," the nurse continued in the same cheery tones, "but I have to change your catheter this morning."

Jakotsu grunted wearily in reply. 

"If you're feeling up to it, Sato-san, you have a visitor this morning." The nurse smiled at him. "Your friend, Kinomoto-san, was here this morning. When I told him we needed to do a few things before he could stay, he went downstairs to the cafeteria for a cup of tea. You know he looks just like that record producer, what's his name...? You know, Kusao Bankotsu-san... When I told him that he laughed and said he gets that all the time. Well, they do say everyone has a double out there somewhere..." She bustled about the room, checking his vitals as Jakotsu felt himself drifting off to sleep. "Does your friend have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah..." Jakotsu coughed in reply.

"Too bad... Oh, he left you a present and he said you could open it when you wake up. Want me to help you?"

The cross-dresser nodded weakly. He felt like he was drowning in his own body fluids despite the fact he was sitting nearly upright. 

"Okay..." the nurse took the fancy paper bag, and opened it as a puzzled frown settled over her features. "I wonder if he's made a mistake and some little girl is getting the present he intended for you..." she said when she pulled a "Hello Kitty" plushie out of the bag and set it on the bedside table at his feet. 

Jakotsu opened his eyes and saw that the little plushie was dressed in a pink kimono. He laughed, although, it sounded more like a coughing fit. "It's for me..." he rasped out.

"Yeah...?" the nurse said, increasing the level of oxygen going into the clear plastic tent that was draped over the cross-dresser.

Jakotsu nodded. _He remembered..._

"Oh..."

"Long story..." the cross-dresser said weakly. 

"A very long story," Bankotsu said when he entered the room. "Good morning, Hideki-san, Sensei."

The nurse giggled "If you'll excuse me...?" she said and Bankotsu nodded. Seconds later, she left.

"How you feeling?"

Jakotsu shrugged.

"I know you hate it here but Sui said you had no choice as your right lung collapsed and you were in danger of having the other one collapse as well. Damn it, Sweetness, why the hell didn't you say anything? You could have died!"

"Sorry... didn't want to worry you..."

Bankotsu shook his head. "So you worried me more. Idiot..." he said softly. 

Jakotsu smiled and nodded towards the plushie. "Thanks..."

"I figured you'd like it, although, I felt like an idiot, myself, buying it. Stupid cashier recognized me."

Jakotsu coughed. "Don't make me laugh..." he rasped.

"Sorry..."

"'s okay... I'm glad you got me one..."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... I told you I used to collect them...?"

Bankotsu nodded.

"My parents found them... and threw them all out... every last stinking one of them..." Jakotsu said sadly.

"I know, you told me that and you also told me the one in the kimono was your favorite."

Jakotsu nodded. "We spent all day..." He coughed. "In that pachinko parlor...ahem..." he coughed again. "Trying to win one..."

"Yeah..." Bankotsu smiled at the memory. "Thank goodness you can buy the real-deal."

Jakotsu half laughed, half coughed. 

Bankotsu frowned until the cross-dresser weakly waved his hand as if to say he was fine. 

"Uh, Sweetness, don't get any ideas about decorating the place with that crap."

"I won't... besides, why have a Hello Kitty... when I have you to snuggle with at night...?"

"You don't like it?"

"No, no, no... I like her very much... and I'm glad you bought her for me... she'll keep me company when you're gone..."

"I wish I could stay longer."

"I know... but they have stupid rules..." the cross-dresser rasped as waves of exhaustion washed over him.

"For good reason too. You need to get some rest and I'll be back later..." Bankotsu trailed off softly when Jakotsu closed his eyes. He sat there, watching his lover sleep, until he noticed morning visiting hours were nearly over. Getting up, the young record producer looked around to make sure no one would disturb them, before picking up the Hello Kitty plushie. He came closer to his lover, and lifting the edge of the oxygen tent, Bankotsu slipped the plushie underneath. A few tense minutes later, Bankotsu had the plushie resting in the crook of Jakotsu's arm. "Sleep well, Sweetness," he whispered as he gently brushed his fingers against the cross-dresser's cheek. After making sure everything was exactly like it was before he touched the oxygen tent, Bankotsu left.

Jakotsu slept off and on during the day, stirring only when someone came in to check his vitals and change his IV bag. After a while, he was able to tell the difference between an IV containing medication and the ones the hung up for nourishment. Through it all, the Hello Kitty remained by his side.

"Hey, Sweetness..." a familiar voice said, pulling Jakotsu from his dreams. 

"Hey there..."

"Feeling better? You've slept most of the afternoon away," his lover said. Bankotsu was sitting in the hospital room's only chair, a book in his hand. 

"I did...?"

"Yup. But then you need to regain your strength, so I guess all this sleeping's good, no?"

"Must be... do it a lot..."

"So, are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah... I had a nice...nap with Kitty..." Jakotsu started coughing.

"Sweetness!" Bankotsu started to stand up and come over to him, but the cross-dresser weakly waved him away. 

"I'll be fine..." Jakotsu said, punctuating each word with a cough. "Stay with me..." The cross-dresser's breathing was shallow and raspy and while it worried his lover, Bankotsu stayed put. 

Bankotsu watched his lover for twenty minutes, before he realized the cross-dresser had drifted off to sleep again. He wanted to gently brush the hair out of Jakotsu's eyes; instead, he contented himself with simply watching him sleep. Bankotsu was pleased to note that his lover seemed more relaxed and less drawn than he had this morning. "I hope you're helping, Kitty," he murmured softly. Getting up, and coming over to his lover, Bankotsu whispered, Good-bye, Sweetness, sleep well..." Bankotsu turned and headed out of the room. "Hey, Sui..." he said softly when he spotted the pediatrician in the hallway.

"Ban." He gave the shorter man a nod in greeting. "How is he?"

"Sleepy, but that's good, right?"

"Yeah, he's getting better, so don't worry. They've been monitoring his temperature, so no more scares like the other night."

"That's good. I was so afraid I was going to lose him..."

Suikotsu nodded. "He had a seizure because he was severely dehydrated due to the fever. Once we changed his meds, his temperature went down. You know yourself, he rarely gets sick, but when he does, he gets hit hard by it."

"Tell me about it."

"My guess is he got strep from Sango's eldest, and instead of getting a sore throat like everyone else, it went to his chest and Jak, being Jak, ignored it." Suikotsu chuckled softly. "He's going to be fine, Ban, now that we know exactly what it is. And I don't want you fussing over him next time he gets a cold either. Just let him be, unless he looks like he's half dead no matter what he says. Then I want you to call me and I'll deal with it."

"Okay."

"Good... Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a patient to see and you, my friend, need to go home and get some sleep."

Bankotsu yawned. "Don't remind me. It's just that it's so hard sleeping without him." He grinned sheepishly. "It's funny how you get used to those things."

"I know... I'll see you tomorrow, Ban."

"'night, Sui..." Bankotsu said and with that, the two men went their separate ways.

The cross-dresser slept peacefully, not even stirring when Suikotsu came in to check his vitals. The pediatrician, who also acted as Jakotsu's physician, had admitted him to the hospital three days ago and every night when he finished his regular duties at his clinic, he made a point to be there for his friend. Suikotsu smiled when he spotted the plushie as Jakotsu seemed to be resting easier than before. _I'm glad you listened to my advice last night, Ban..._

Jakotsu woke up a few hours later, when the hospital was quiet and the lighting dimmer. The nightshift had started their rounds and when the cross-dresser opened his eyes, he found himself looking at the warm smile of the night nurse. "Hello, nurse..." he said softly.

She laughed. "Feeling better, Sato-san?"

Jakotsu frowned._ Sato-san...? Oh yeah! That's me... _He mentally giggled. "Yes, thank you... I got a present today..."

"I see," the nurse said. "But aren't you a little too old to be playing with 'Hello Kitty?'" she teased.

Jakotsu coughed out a laugh. "Well... seeing as my doctor's really a pediatrician... I think not..." he teased back. 

She laughed as she checked his pulse. "Well, my young friend, I need to check your temperature, and get a bed ready for you in pediatrics if you're well enough to leave here tomorrow."

"What...? And leave ICU... and all the pretty nurses...?"

"Are you flirting with me, Sato-san?"

"Depends... do you want me to flirt with you...?"

The nurse laughed. "And make your boyfriend jealous? I think not. Now open up..." She held out a thermometer.

Jakotsu dutifully opened his mouth and closed it around the thermometer. They waited in silence for it to beep. When it beeped, the nurse looked at it and smiled.

"According to this, you're going to be here a little longer, Sato-san, as your fever's still a bit high."

"Oh..."

"Yup, pediatrics'll have to wait another day or two. At least you have your little friend for company." The nurse said. She adjusted his oxygen tent and gave everything else a final check. "Good night, Sato-san."

"'night..." Jakotsu replied. He watched her leave. "I guess it's just you and me now, Kitty..." he said softly. "What's that...? How'd I wind up here...?" The cross-dresser sat the plushie on his stomach. "Well... I got sick..." he said softly. "Ban... the cutie that rescued you... from a fate worse than death... living with some eight year old girl... well... he came home... and found me passed out on the sofa..." Jakotsu paused and coughed. The cross-dresser weakly pushed himself upright. The pain in his chest and sensation of drowning scared him until he spotted the plushie on his lap. Somehow he calmed down enough to find the button to make the back of his bed rise and he pushed it. When it met his back, the cross-dresser settled back and continued his story.

"Or so he says... All I know is I'm here... and I was scared and lonely... until you came..." He coughed again. "Ewww... green gunk... gotta tissue..? No...?" Jakotsu called for a nurse.

"I need..." He coughed again. "A tissue..."

"Okay, Sato-san..." the nurse soothed. She placed them inside the oxygen tent and watched as Jakotsu wiped off his hand. "You're not coughing up blood?"

Jakotsu shook his head. "Just green crap..."

"Okay..." The nurse reached under the tent to check his pulse. Frowning slightly, she also checked his blood pressure. "You need to relax, Sato-san, if you're going to get better."

The cross-dresser nodded while the nurse adjusted his IV. "I'll be back to check on you in a half-hour." She dimmed the lights when she left.

"Anyways..." Jakotsu rasped. "I'm glad you're here... and I'm glad Sui admitted me here under Sato... Who's Sato...? My grandfather... Ban calls himself... after Touya..."

The plushie simply sat there and Jakotsu imagined it was listening to him with rapt attention. 

"I hate it here..." He coughed. "I miss Ban... I hate being woken up... all the time... I'm sick damn it... and no one'll leave me alone..." Jakotsu took a deep breath as best he could. He could feel tears of frustration threatening to spill down his cheeks and he knew if he did not calm down, the nurses would be back, fussing over him. So he reached for his plushie and held her tight. "I wish it was you, Ban... this sucks... I'm lonely... and worried about you...the only time I feel better..." He coughed. "Is when they drug me up..."

Jakotsu closed his eyes. He groaned softly when he heard a knock on the door, the sound of it opening quickly following. His only consolation was a single set of footsteps that approached his bed. 

"What's the matter, Jak?"

"I miss Ban... Sui..."

"Hello Kitty's not helping?"

Jakotsu shook his head.

"Want me to stay with you for a bit?"

"Don't mind...Sui...?"

"No, I was here before but you were asleep so I decided to let you be. I'm also going to see what I can do about making arrangements for Ban to stay in your room tomorrow."

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu's expression briefly brightened before he closed his eyes. 

"Yeah," Suikotsu said softly while he checked the cross-dresser's pulse. "They do it in certain situations and I think this qualifies as one." He counted softly to himself. "Good... your heart rate is much better now. Jak, the reason I admitted you is more for your exhaustion than your pneumonia."

The cross-dresser opened his eyes and looked at him.

"It's making it worse. You need to relax. When you're calm, your breathing evens out and you stop panicking about not being able to breathe," Suikotsu calmly explained. "Then you cough softly, which doesn't hurt and it helps loosen everything up. But rapid breathing will cause your lungs to spasm like an asthma attack, making it hurt and a vicious cycle starts. So calm the hell down," he raised his voice, although Jakotsu knew he was teasing him. "Doctor's orders."

Jakotsu smiled. "Okay, Sensei... So how much longer...?"

"If all goes well, another week or two. If you took better care of yourself when you're sick, you could have recovered at home."

"Damn..."

"Well, you live and learn, eh?"

Jakotsu nodded. "And get Luvs..."

"Luvs?" Suikotsu quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Diaper ad... I saw it... when we went to New York..." Jakotsu said breathlessly.

Suikotsu laughed. "I had a good time with you in New York."

"Yeah... me too..." Jakotsu said wistfully.

"Some things aren't meant to be, Jak, and you know it. "

"Yeah... I know..."

"Besides, Ban's a keeper."

"I know..." Jakotsu smiled.

"As long as you do," Suikotsu said and Jakotsu nodded wordlessly. Smirking, the pediatrician reached under the oxygen tent and pulled out Jakotsu's plushie. 

"Hey... give her back..."

"No!" Suikotsu teased. 

"Come on... Sui..." The cross-dresser coughed.

"Are you okay, Sato-san?" Suikotsu said in a high pitched voice, moving the plushie from side to side. 

Jakotsu giggled softly. "I'm fine... Kitty-san..."

"Sensei says he's worried about you."

"Tell him... not to worry... Ban has my heart..."

"Good."

The cross-dresser smiled. "Kitty-san...?"

"Yeah...?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Sorry?"

"Yeah... I started to introduce myself... got sidetracked..."

Suikotsu frowned. "Maybe I should go? You're pushing yourself again."

"In a minute... I want to tell Kitty-san my name..."

"Oh..." Suikotsu chuckled and Jakotsu smiled back at him.

"It's Jakotsu... and stay here with me... I'm more fun..." he teased.

"Hey, I resent that!"

"You're a doctor, I'm a media icon... you tell me… who's more fun..."

"You win. Kitty-san, Jakotsu, over there, is far more colorful than your kimono," Suikotsu said to the plushie. "Knowing him as well as I do, you'll have a fun and glamorous life with him... Just one word of advice, stay on Ban's good side, as I don't want him getting jealous of you."

"Jealous...?" the cross-dresser rasped.

"Yeah. Kitty-san's the first woman I've ever seen you sleep with." 

Jakotsu laughed.

"So who knows what that'll lead to?"

The cross-dresser coughed. "Sui... you're killing me... Kitty-san, don't believe him... I like you... but I love Ban..."

"It's okay..." Suikotsu said, pretending again that the plushie was speaking. "We believe you."

"Good, now come back... I want to sleep..." Jakotsu sighed softly and closed his eyes.

Suikotsu put the plushie back under the oxygen tent. Adjusting the oxygen level, he said, "Good night, Jak, Kitty-san."

"'night, Sensei..." Jakotsu rasped softly, as he playfully held up the plushie. 

Suikotsu chuckled, and shaking his head at his friend's antics, left the room.

"'night, Kitty..." Jakotsu said as he held her close...

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "L" is for Lust.**_


	12. L is for Lust

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**L" is for Lust**

Jakotsu sat on the veranda, eating a very juicy peach. He would daintily wipe the juice away with the fingers of his free hand, licking them and his lips in between bites.

Bankotsu watched his paramour through the open shoji and growled. As much as he wanted to have fun with his paramour, he had work to do and Jakotsu knew it. So he reluctantly turned back to his ledger and the pile of letters sitting there, asking for help. 

"Mmmm..." Jakotsu said softly when he took another bite out of the peach.

Bankotsu's head came up almost as if it had a life of its own for there was no mistaking the lustful sound the cross-dresser put into the simple act of enjoying a tasty snack. 

_Damn it, Sweetness! I've got work to do!_ Bankotsu sighed. He was getting more and more frustrated by the fact that the columns of numbers had failed to add up correctly, not to mention the distraction that was sitting just outside named "Jakotsu." He knew the cross-dresser was deliberately teasing him and there was not a thing he do about it except do his best to ignore it. But the lustful sounds of Jakotsu eating a peach kept entering his thoughts and Bankotsu was starting to feel an unwelcome tightness in his hakama.

"Mmmm..." Jakotsu took another bite and licked his lips. 

Bankotsu watched his paramour run his hand lightly up his bare thigh, searching for an itch that suddenly needed scratching. _Come're... I'll scratch that for you..._ He closed his eyes when Jakotsu inched his kimono up higher and higher. The soft rustle of fabric and the contented sigh was all the signs Bankotsu got that said itch had been scratched. The young leader of the Shichinintai added his own soft sigh of relief to sounds of the late afternoon. A particularly loud cicada trilled its buzzing love song, earning a bit of thanks from Bankotsu for it drowned out the soft sucking noises of Jakotsu and the peach. 

Jakotsu, having finished eating his peach, shifted his weight so that he appeared to be about to crawl towards Bankotsu. 

Bankotsu looked up when he heard the floorboards creak, his eyes drawn to the fact that his paramour's kimono was hanging open and he could see the pale flesh of the cross-dresser's neck melting into the planes of his chest. It was a short leap in Bankotsu's mind to imagine his paramour naked and crawling towards him. He gulped audibly, tweaking Jakotsu's lips upwards in a brief smile. "What are you doing?" Bankotsu choked out.

"Nothing..." Jakotsu said innocently, although the knowing look he shot his lover was anything but. "I'm just stretching." The cross-dresser proceeded to go fully onto his hands and knees, and arching his back like a cat, he let out a soft sigh of contentment. "Why...?" he said as he sat back on his heels and rolled his shoulders.

"No reason... Well, I thought you were leaving."

"Oh... You want me to leave, Aniki-chan?"

"Yes... no... I don't know. Just sit there quietly and leave me alone, Jakotsu, as I'm busy," Bankotsu replied. He hoped the use of Jakotsu's name instead of his pet name would be enough to get him to behave and sit still.

"Okay..." Jakotsu said airily, settling back against the post holding up the veranda's roof. 

Things quieted down again and Bankotsu was able to concentrate on his work. However, the peacefulness did not last long.

Jakotsu shifted slightly, making the floorboards creak again.

When he looked up for the umpteenth time, Bankotsu got an eyeful of Jakotsu's bare left leg and thigh. As he stared at it, the young leader of the Shichinintai realized he could just glimpse the hard contours of the cross-dresser's buttock. Bankotsu closed his eyes and counted slowly to ten, when he opened them, he forced himself to look down at his work.

_Five plus three is eight... plus six is fourteen, carry the one..._Bankotsu added the column again and to his surprise, it came out exactly. "YES!" he said happily.

"Yes...?" Jakotsu echoed.

Bankotsu looked up and instantly regretted it. "Uh... Sweetness?"

"Yeah...?"

"What're you doing?"

"Nothing..."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah... well, I'm fanning myself as I'm hot," Jakotsu said, pulling his kimono open and, waving his hand vigorously at himself.

"Oh..." Bankotsu tried going back to work, but when he heard Jakotsu move again, he looked up, hoping to see him leave. What he got, instead, was an eyeful as the cross-dresser's kimono fell away from his right leg. Instead of fig-leafing him, Jakotsu's left foot seemed to call attention to what the cross-dresser referred to as his yummy bits. The young leader of the Shichinintai gulped and looked away, busying himself with the pile of letters. 

Things went well for Bankotsu for awhile and he found he could immerse himself in the petty whining and begging that set the tone of the letters until he realized it was too quiet. Clutching the letter in his hands tightly, Bankotsu resisted the urge to look up and see what his paramour was up to now. He knew the cross-dresser was still sitting there, as he did not hear the floorboards creaking, nor did her the sound of retreating footsteps. And it was too quiet for him to be sleeping as Jakotsu snored softly in his sleep. 

After reading the same line over and over again, Bankotsu looked up. _Oh hell..._

Jakotsu was lying on the veranda, practically naked and on his stomach, his chin lovingly cradled in his hands as he stared intently at his lover. "You okay, Aniki-chan?" he asked sweetly.

_No..._Bankotsu inwardly groaned. He could not count the number of times he had walked into their rooms and found his paramour lying like that on their futon. The only difference between those times and this was the fact that Jakotsu was facing him. 

"Y-yeah..."

"Oh good... Ummm, you look kinda tense," Jakotsu said with a smile. "Want me to rub your back?"

"No!"

The cross-dresser frowned.

"I'm sorry, Sweetness, but I'm really busy."

"Oh... Can I help? Or what if go I get Ren?" Jakotsu started to get up, giving his lover another eyeful.

"NO! Stay put!" Bankotsu rubbed his temple with his left hand. _Please, Sweetness, behave..._

Just when Bankotsu was beginning to think the only way he was going to get anything done was to give into Jakotsu's lustful little game; salvation arrived in the form of the very person they were speaking about.

Renkotsu briskly walked towards the cross-dresser, smiling inwardly at Suikotsu's correct assumption as he had heard them talking. He had been looking all over for their leader because he had some new weapon designs he wanted to go over with him. Since he was tired of searching in vain, he had asked the claw-bearer if knew where Bankotsu was. Suikotsu had replied he had seen Jakotsu sitting outside Bankotsu's study, eating some peaches, and that their leader was probably working in his study. 

"Hey, Jak," the fire-breather called out in greeting. 

"Hey, Ren!" The cross-dresser rolled over and Renkotsu also was treated to an eyeful of his charms while he sat up. "Aniki-chan, Ren's here!" he said, stating the obvious.

"I know..." Bankotsu said dryly. "Come're, Ren," he quickly added. "I have some possible missions to discuss with you."

"Good, I wanted to discuss some new weapon designs with you too," Renkotsu said, approaching his leader.

"Yeah...?" Bankotsu's face lit up, causing the fire-breather to cast a quick glance over his shoulder at Jakotsu. Renkotsu wondered what was up because the last thing he knew Bankotsu would want to discuss, especially if the cross-dresser was nearby, was new weaponry. Plus there was no mistaking the brief look of annoyance that flitted across Jakotsu's face. _Hmmm... This ought to be interesting..._

"Well, I had an idea for a new shoulder canon. One that was somewhat lighter, and had a better firing range, smaller ammo too, but more destructive..." the fire-breather droned on while he spread his designs out on the low table. 

Bankotsu seemed very interested too, until the sound of creaking floorboards drew his attention outside. 

Renkotsu also followed his leader's gaze, but saw nothing more than Jakotsu sitting up and, eating another peach. He watched with mild interest as the cross-dresser turned eating into a sensual pleasure, but since he had their leader's undivided attention, he quickly pushed Jakotsu out of his thoughts. "And I was thinking of making some modifications to Gin's armor too. I got the idea from playing around with some shurikens. I figured if I made them bigger and added more cutting blades to them so that they'll look circular, they'd be more deadly. And I can easily whip something up to shot them upwards and outwards at his targets..."

"Sounds good, Ren..." Bankotsu said. It was taking all his strength of mind not to look out the open shoji at his paramour.

Jakotsu was resting his right arm on his knee, the peach dangling from his hand while he daintily wiped the juice, running down his chin, with his left middle finger. He wiped upwards and as his finger crested the rise of his lower lip, Jakotsu sucked it into his mouth. 

Bankotsu happened to lose his battle with himself and looked over just in time to see the cross-dresser stick his finger in his mouth. The young leader of the Shichinintai's own mouth hung slightly open while he watched Jakotsu slowly push his finger further into his mouth only to slowly reverse the process seconds later. He gulped a few times like a fish out of water, prompting Renkotsu to ask if he was alright.

"Hunh...?" Bankotsu stared blankly at his second-in-command.

"I asked you if you were alright," Renkotsu said patiently, although his eyes were twinkling with amusement.

Bankotsu felt his cheeks heating up as he stole another surreptitious glance at his paramour.

Renkotsu also took a quick glance at the cross-dresser who was now sprawled out on the veranda's floor. He noted that the peach was nearly finished and that Jakotsu was now nibbling daintily on the bits of flesh that clung to the pit. Turning his attention back to Bankotsu, Renkotsu proceeded to explain a new weapon he thought of that would be able to shoot one of Mukotsu's poison canisters onto the battlefield from a safe distance. "The beauty of that design, Oo-Aniki, is..." He trailed off when he noticed Bankotsu was no longer paying attention. "Oo-Aniki, are you okay? You look flushed."

Bankotsu looked up at him, trying hard not to blush, and failing miserably. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You keep squirming and clutching your belly. Your stomach's not ill, is it?"

"No... I'm fine..." _I'm just so hard it hurts, and if you weren't here, Ren, I'd have dragged Jak in here awhile ago for a bit of fun... _Bankotsu narrowed his eyes at the fire-breather. _Oh hell! You know that too!_ "So uh... what do you think of this?" Bankotsu asked, changing the subject, as he pushed a letter towards his second-in-command.

Renkotsu picked up the letter and read it. "I think this is a waste of time, Oo-Aniki. He could easily take care of that himself, as I know for a fact that daimyo he has a problem with is weaker than weak. Any more?"

"Just these," Bankotsu said, sliding the pile of letters towards him.

The fire-breather noted with amusement that Bankotsu was now ignoring him in favor of his paramour. 

Jakotsu had rolled over again onto his stomach, his feet raised up in the air while he flexed them. He had his chin resting comfortably in his upraised hand while he drew little circular patterns on the floor. To the casual observer he seemed the picture of boredom.

The fire-breather looked up from the letter, he had been reading, and he was about to comment on it, when he noticed his leader was sitting there, chin resting on his upturned palm, his other hand in his lap. Renkotsu stared at him for a few minutes before he realized what Bankotsu was doing. _Oh hell! Can't you wait until I'm gone? _He cleared his throat, hoping to catch his leader's attention. "Oo-Aniki...?"

"Hmmm...?" Bankotsu replied dreamily.

"If you'll excuse me...?" Renkotsu said and he prayed Bankotsu would let him go. The fire-breather noticed Jakotsu was now staring their way, a look of pure lust on his face as he licked his lips.

"Yeah..."

_Thank you, Kami-sama... _Renkotsu thought as he stood up to make his escape.

"Where're you going?" the young leader of the Shichinintai asked, thoroughly taking the fire-breather by surprise.

"My workshop... I have work to do."

"Stay! We need to discuss which mission to go on," Bankotsu said as nonchalantly as he could. Somehow focusing on the fire-breather calmed his lust, and if he was going to get any work done, he needed Renkotsu's presence.

"But...?"

Bankotsu sat up and folded his arms across his chest.

Sighing in defeat, Renkotsu sat down again and picked up another letter. He quickly read through it. "Not enough money for the amount of work we'd need to do to win." 

"Okay..." Bankotsu nodded as the floorboards creaked and he shifted his focus back onto his paramour.

Jakotsu was rolling his hips from side to side, while he looked for a more comfortable position. He had also worked himself up into a lustful state and he was extremely annoyed when Renkotsu sat down again. Instead of easing his situation, the rolling about only added to it because he could feel his lover watching him.

Renkotsu read another letter. Looking up from it to offer his judgment in the matter, he quickly closed his eyes in disgust. Bankotsu was leaning back, his left hand massaging the tension from his neck, which was not bad in the fire-breather's humble opinion. Unfortunately, he noticed where his leader's right hand was. _Oh for Kami-sama's sake... Let me go and you can spend all day in here with him, acting like rabbits, instead of torturing yourself._

Jakotsu looked up and was pleased to note that not only was his beloved Aniki-chan getting more and more lustful as the day wore on, but Renkotsu was getting annoyed about it. As much fun as it was to tease the fire-breather sexually, the cross-dresser also discovered it was as much fun, if not more so at times, to tick him off. So Jakotsu squirmed a bit more, rubbing his groin into the veranda, once he had their attention.

Finally Bankotsu had had enough. He took one look at his second-in-command and hissed, "Get out!"

Renkotsu nodded and beat a hasty retreat, his fear of being called back to watch more of his leader's and his paramour's antics, lending speed to his feet. 

"Bye, Ren..." Jakotsu said sweetly as he sat up to watch him go. Evidence of his own lustful state peeked out from between the folds of his kimono while he sat there. The cross-dresser looked down and leisurely moved to cover himself when a loud noise drew his attention back to his lover.

Bankotsu sat behind the low table, smirking, his chin resting on both hands. The letters and ledger that had once sat on the table in front of him were now scattered all over the floor. 

Jakotsu got the hint, and getting up, he sauntered over to his lover, pausing long enough to close the shoji behind him. It was his turn to smirk, as he stood there in front of him, when Bankotsu reached out and tugged on his obi. The young leader of the Shichinintai gave it a few quick tugs before the silken sash fluttered towards him, releasing the bunched up kimono from the cross-dresser's hips. Jakotsu knelt on the table and crawled towards his lover, capturing his lips with his own. Minutes later, he was flat on his back on top the table, Bankotsu blanketing him, while the two of them finally gave into their lust. 

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "M" is for Marriage.**_


	13. M is for Marriage

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section over at .) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_Inspired by some brief scenes in several of my doujinshi... if only I knew what they were really saying. _

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does! **_

888

"**M" is for Marriage**

"Uh, Sui, what's it like to be married?" Jakotsu asked as he reached for another rice ball. They were sitting on the veranda, having lunch, while taking a break from their respective chores. Since it was harvest time, they were unable to get any village girls to come clean up their home base and they were forced to do it themselves.

Suikotsu quirked his eyebrow at the cross-dresser, and swallowing the onigiri he was eating, he said, "How can I put it...?" The claw-bearer paused while he thought it over. "I was lucky in that my parents chose a woman that I knew and came to like very much. Most people, including my friends, are married off to someone they don't know, or may not even like, simply for political or economic gain." At the cross-dresser's blank look, Suikotsu clarified. "Their parents married them off because they were poor and the other family had more, or the other family came from a more powerful clan. Sometimes both reasons were true."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, and sometimes you go out and find your own spouse if there's no women available for marriage in your own village that could help you advance in life. Such as if you weren't your father's heir, finding a woman who only has sisters could be an advantage."

Jakotsu nodded.

"And despite outward appearances, Jak, marriage is really a partnership between you and your spouse. In exchange for providing a roof over her head and food in her belly, a woman will run her husband's household, help defend it when he's away, and give him heirs to carry on his name."

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu held out the plate of onigiri and Suikotsu took one.

"If you're lucky, one of the best parts about being married is you're never lonely."

"Oh..." Jakotsu said thoughtfully.

"Yeah... so, uh, are you thinking of leaving us to get married?" Suikotsu said teasingly.

Jakotsu laughed. "Nah... Unless I can really marry Aniki-chan...?"

"Sorry, but that's not possible."

The cross-dresser sighed sadly. "I know..." He slid off the veranda and stood up to leave.

"Jak?"

"Yeah?" Jakotsu turned to face the claw-bearer.

"You still have all the benefits of being married without it being recorded."

"I do?"

"Yeah, Oo-Aniki's put a roof over your head and food in your belly," Suikotsu picked up a rice ball and took a bite.

Jakotsu smiled. "I do defend the place when he's away, even if he asks Ren to help him run things," the cross-dresser said ruefully.

"That's only because you weren't brought up to do that."

The cross-dresser giggled. "Yeah, I was brought up to do other things."

"That's the big reason why everyone wants to marry a geisha." Suikotsu chuckled.

"Yeah..." Jakotsu's smile faded. "But what if Aniki-chan wants an heir? I can't give him one."

"True, but many men stay happily married to their barren wives."

"Yeah... and how many of them go looking elsewhere for that heir?" Jakotsu said bitterly.

"A few, but there are also just as many who'll adopt another man's son who has no prospects in his own clan as well as those who simply chose an heir from amongst their nephews."

"Yeah...?"

"Yup. So stop worrying about it. Right now, you know as well as I do, that Oo-Aniki is too much of a free spirit to settle down with anyone," Suikotsu gently chided.

"I know, but I can't help worrying."

"That's because you're becoming a man, Jak." Suikotsu held up a hand. "I mean really becoming a man, with a man's worries and responsibilities. And it sounds to me like you're ready to settle down and get married."

"Yeah...? But I don't want to marry some stupid woman, Sui." The cross-dresser made a face as if that idea was distasteful to him.

"I know. But there is another option."

"Yeah? What?"

"Continue just as you have with Oo-Aniki. Let him gain the confidence to rely on you for the things he relies on Ren for. He's growing older too, and you might just find he spends the rest of his days with you."

"Yeah...?"

Suikotsu nodded. "Yeah..." He smiled. "Unfortunately, I have to get back to work and you should too. We can talk about this later if you want."

"Okay... Later then!" Jakotsu smiled and with a quick wave of his hand he set off to finish hanging up the clean bedding.

888

"Good... that's the last of the bedding..." Jakotsu said to himself as he hung a thin cotton blanket.

"Sorry, Jak," Renkotsu said when he came up behind him with a basket full of laundry.

Jakotsu turned to face him, a sour look on his face.

The fire-breather chuckled. "Now you know why Momo-chan was complaining last time she was here." He grinned.

"Yeah..."

"Don't look at me; you're the one who wanted to be a little housewife." Renkotsu laughed at the cross-dresser's puzzled expression. "Sui said you two talked about marriage."

Jakotsu rolled his eyes and heaved a long suffering sigh. "All I did was ask him what it's like, Ren. I thought maybe if he remembered something happy about it, he wouldn't be so sad."

"I know..." Renkotsu sighed. "This time of year is always bad for him. At least I'll be around this time instead of away like last year."

"Yeah..." Jakotsu bent down and picked up a kimono and carefully strung it on the pole Renkotsu was holding, before repeating the process with another one. "And he seemed happier when I told him I wanted to marry Aniki-chan." The cross-dresser giggled.

Renkotsu laughed. "Poor Ban. Not only do all the village girls want to marry him, he's got you wanting the same thing."

"Well, what's wrong with that?" the cross-dresser asked, quirking an eyebrow at the fire-breather in annoyance.

"Nothing, except no matter how much we dress you up like a girl, you're still...uh, you." He chuckled.

Jakotsu stuck his tongue out at the fire-breather, before bending over to retrieve a pair of hakama from the basket. Hanging them on the pole Renkotsu had set up next to the one that held the kimono, he said dryly, "Very funny. Besides, Sui said me and Aniki-chan are married, well, sort of..."

"Hunh?" Renkotsu looked at the cross-dresser like he had three heads.

"Yeah. Sui said Aniki-chan put a roof over my head and food in my belly and umm..."

"Well so did the monastery I used to live in not to mention the blacksmith that took me in when I was thrown out of there. But, Jak, I wasn't married to either one of them."

Jakotsu hung up some more laundry while he thought it over. Turning to the fire-breather, he said sweetly, "Did you nookie with them?"

"What?!" Renkotsu sputtered.

"Oh, never mind..." the cross-dresser teased. "Unless it's recorded somewhere you're not really married, right?" He smiled impishly at the fire-breather.

"Yeah," Renkotsu said dryly. "And don't get any ideas about me writing anything down for you either. There's a whole ceremony you need to go through first. There're many blessings to be said and gifts handed out, and don't look at me like that!" He shook his finger at Jakotsu. "I'm not a monk any more, nor do I think you'll find one stupid enough to go through with this anyway." He softened his tone. "Just enjoy what you have with Ban and leave it be. And if you want to play dress up; I'll buy you a pretty kimono to dress up in. Anything else you can forget!"

"Okay, okay..." Jakotsu pouted.

"Seriously, Jak, Sui was right; you two have all the benefits of marriage without all the pain. Just enjoy it and don't fret over things you can't change."

The cross-dresser nodded.

"Well, that's all the laundry. I'm going to see what else there is to do."

"Bye, Ren," Jakotsu said. Picking up the baskets, he watched the fire-breather walk away.

888

Bankotsu's face lit up when he spotted his paramour heading his way. "Hey, Sweetness!" He was standing under the covered veranda, just outside his study, sweeping the dust and dead leaves away.

"Aniki-chan..." Jakotsu waved.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I'm just tired." Jakotsu sat down on the floor next to his lover's feet.

"Yeah? You're not getting sick are you?"

"No. I'm just tired of looking at laundry," Jakotsu wearily.

Bankotsu laughed. "I know. I'm getting tired of sweeping and washing floors myself." He turned and leaned the broom against the wall, before coming back to sit next to his paramour. "I don't know how the hell girls can do this shit all the time and not complain."

"Sui says it's because they're married."

"What?"

"Sui said when you're married you do things because you're partners and you get stuff in return for it."

"Yeah...?" Bankotsu laughed.

"Yup!" The cross-dresser giggled.

"You think we should get some girls so we don't have to do this any more?"

"Not unless I can cut them up afterwards," Jakotsu said impishly, while playing with the end of his lover's braid.

Bankotsu chuckled. "That'd be a waste, Sweetness, as we'd have to get more girls."

"Oh yeah..." Jakotsu laughed. He leaned backed and lay on the floor of the veranda, his legs dangling over the edge.

They lapsed into companionable silence. After awhile, Jakotsu broke it. "Aniki-chan...?" he said, moving to lay his head in Bankotsu's lap.

"Yeah?"

"Ever think about getting married?"

"Hunh?" Bankotsu looked down at his paramour.

"Ever think about getting married," Jakotsu repeated.

"Nah! Why the hell would I want to get married for?" he said, quirking an eyebrow at his paramour.

"I don't know... why does anyone get married?"

"Who knows?" Bankotsu shrugged. "And why the sudden interest in marriage, Sweetness?"

"No reason..." Jakotsu said airily. "Well," he said, looking up at his lover. "Sui was married and he always gets so sad at this time, because he misses Sedako."

"Didn't she die a long time ago?"

"I don't think so..." The cross-dresser thought it over. "Sui said she died just before we met him." He counted on his fingers. "What's that, three years ago?"

Bankotsu laughed. "You're holding up four fingers."

"Yeah...?"

Bankotsu nodded.

"Oh..." Jakotsu looked at his hand. "Anyway, I know he loved her and that's why he gets so sad in the fall. Last time you were away with Ren, Sui told me she died around this time. He was so upset he was drinking, Aniki-chan." Jakotsu sighed. "And he said I remind him of her."

"Does that bother you, Sweetness?"

"No." Jakotsu smiled ruefully. "I've been told many times that I remind a lot of men of their wives."

"Is that why you cut them up?" Bankotsu teased.

"No!" The cross-dresser frowned.

"Then why?"

"I don't know..." Jakotsu trailed off softly.

"You jealous?"

"Of what?"

Bankotsu shrugged. "I don't know..." He sighed. "They being married and you not?" Bankotsu teased.

"Nah." Jakotsu giggled. "I have you, don't I?"

"Yeah."

"So what more can I want?"

"A wife to do the laundry for you?"

Jakotsu laughed. "Nah... I'd rather have you," he said softly. Reaching up, he gently stroked his lover's cheek.

"Yeah... I'd rather have you than some stupid boring old wife too." Bankotsu grinned and grabbed his paramour's hand. "You're much more fun!"

"I'm prettier too," the cross-dresser said impishly.

"That too!"

They laughed.

888

"Hey, Sui!"

"Hey, Ren," Suikotsu said, patting the veranda floor next to himself as an invitation for the fire-breather to sit with him.

"Thank goodness the work's finally done," Renkotsu said when he came over and sat down.

"Oh yeah!" The claw-bearer smiled.

"Uh, Sui..."

"Yeah?"

"I had the strangest conversation with Jak today."

"He asked you about marriage too?"

"Yeah..." Renkotsu looked over at him. "He said he was trying to cheer you up. He succeed?" _I hope so..._

Suikotsu nodded. "Yeah, he did actually. He made me realize that the things that were taken away from me were really given back."

"Yeah?"

"Yup. Well, they're not in the way I would have expected, but they're there."

"That's good."

"Uh-hunh." The claw-bearer smiled. "You know our lil butterfly is growing up."

"Does that mean we have a wedding to plan?"

They laughed.

"Not yet, but one of these days," Suikotsu said. "Anyway, what did you two talk about besides cheering me up?"

"Nothing much, I just told him I couldn't marry him because I'm no longer a monk."

"Was he upset?"

"No more than he normally is when you tell him he can't do something, so don't worry about it, Sui."

Suikotsu nodded. Getting up, he said, holding out his hands to help Renkotsu stand, "Come; let's go eat."

"Okay."

They walked along the outer corridors of their home base, all the while chatting about nothing in particular. As they turned the corner they spotted their leader and the cross-dresser lounging on the veranda, talking quietly.

"Planning the wedding?" Renkotsu teased as they approached.

Jakotsu was about to snap out a tart reply when his lover silenced him with a look.

"Yeah, we were and we decided a week from today would be nice," Bankotsu teased, although he sounded dead serious.

"What?!" Renkotsu sputtered and even Suikotsu looked surprised.

"Gotchya!" Jakotsu cried. He and Bankotsu looked at each other and laughed. "Ren, you looked so funny when Aniki-chan said that!" He giggled.

"Yeah!" Bankotsu roared with laughter.

"You're never going to live that down, Ren," the claw-bearer said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it..."

As they walked away, they could hear their leader and his paramour laughing.

"Married...hehehehe!"

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "N" is for Nothing.**_


	14. N is for Nothing

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: Jakotsu uses the word "hermadingle" when he meant to say hermaphrodite. That line is a reference to my fic, "Knocked up Joke," in which he had pretended to be pregnant... _

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**N" is for Nothing**

Jakotsu sighed for the umpteenth time. 

"What's wrong, Sweetness?"

"Nothing..." The cross-dresser sighed again.

"It can't be 'nothing,' Jak. You've been sighing ever since we left that village," Renkotsu said testily as the cross-dresser's sighs were getting on his nerves.

Bankotsu nodded.

"You're not sick or injured, are you?" Suikotsu asked.

"No... I'm just tired," Jakotsu said simply as if that explained everything.

"Well if you didn't stay up half the night nookying, you wouldn't be tired," the fire-breather pointed out. 

Suikotsu hissed at him to watch his mouth. 

Bankotsu glared at him and added his own long suffering sigh to the cross-dresser's soft ones. "You want to rest under those trees for a bit, Sweetness?"

"Only if you want to, Aniki-chan."

"Good, cuz I feel like stopping," Bankotsu said, leading his paramour to the shade of some maple trees that lined the road they were traveling on. 

Jakotsu sat down, and leaning back against the tree, he closed his eyes and sighed contentedly.

Renkotsu took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You did it again, Jak."

"Did what?"

"Sighed."

"You really did, Sweetness," Bankotsu said when the cross-dresser cracked open an eye and looked at him. 

"Oh..."

"Are you sure nothing's bothering you?"

"Yeah. I'm just... I don't know, happy." Jakotsu smiled sweetly.

"Oh sweet Kami-sama, please tell me you're not really with child this time," Renkotsu said while he rubbed tiredly at his throbbing temples. "Because if you are, I'm going to go blow something up," he said wryly.

Jakotsu rolled his eyes and heaved a long suffering sigh. "I'm not a hermadingle, Ren! Don't you know anything?"

"Well, you are acting like a woman in that condition, Jak," Suikotsu said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. 

"Well, I'm not even though Aniki-chan's been nookying with me every night," the cross-dresser said smugly. He held his lover's hand. 

Bankotsu grinned. "What can I say?"

"Uh, nothing," Renkotsu said dryly.

"So if you're not with child, what are you so happy about?"

"Nothing..." Jakotsu said airily. "I'm just happy."

"Then I guess we have nothing to worry about, eh?" Suikotsu asked.

"Yeah..." Jakotsu smiled. 

"Well, I'm happy you're happy, Sweetness."

"Me too." The cross-dresser sighed and leaned on his lover.

"You still haven't explained why you keep sighing, Jak," Renkotsu pointed out.

"I said it was nothing."

"But nobody sighs over nothing."

"They don't...?" The cross-dresser blinked.

"Nope," the fire-breather said testily.

"Oh. I guess I'm nobody then," Jakotsu teased. 

Renkotsu felt his left eyebrow start to twitch in time with the vein that was throbbing in his temple. 

Jakotsu watched, fascinated, as the fire-breather's eyebrow continued its twitching. "What's wrong, Ren?"

"Nothing."

"You sure?" Jakotsu asked sweetly.

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay. Ummm..." The cross-dresser stared intently at the fire-breather. "You know your eyebrow's twitching."

"Yes..." the fire-breather said slowly. He wanted nothing more than to throttle Jakotsu at that moment, but he restrained himself when he felt Bankotsu staring at him. "I don't know why it's doing that."

"Oh."

"It's okay, Jak, no one's died from a twitch before," Suikotsu soothed.

The cross-dresser nodded and let out another sigh.

Both Suikotsu and Bankotsu were hard pressed not to laugh at the fire-breather's murderous expression. 

"Calm down, Ren, it's nothing," Suikotsu said softly. "I think he either can't help it, or he's doing it to annoy you."

"I think 'annoy me' is more like it."

"Then if you act like it's nothing, maybe he'll stop," the claw bearer said.

"I'm trying to," Renkotsu hissed. "But he makes it damned hard to ignore."

Jakotsu sighed again when his lover gently tilted his face up to look at him. "Stop it, Sweetness, before Ren explodes."

"Okay."

"As much fun as it is watching him get upset over nothing, you really should stop. I'd hate to have to kill him or something." Bankotsu grinned.

Jakotsu smiled back. "Yeah... If you did, then I'd have nothing left to tease, hunh?"

"Yup."

They laughed much to Renkotsu's annoyance.

"There's nothing to get upset about, Ren," Suikotsu soothed. He watched their leader and his paramour talking quietly amongst themselves. "I have the feeling Jak's just teasing you and Oo-Aniki's going along with him. It was a tough mission for the just four of us and they're just trying to forget about it by playing with you."

"Nothing to get upset about?" Renkotsu looked at the claw-bearer like he had three heads.

"I know no one likes being teased, but they're still boys, Ren, and it means nothing more to them than any other silly thing they do to pass the time when they're tired and bored."

"It still doesn't mean I have to like it."

"True... but I really wouldn't take it to heart. Besides, he'll give it up especially if you stop making a big deal out of it. Remember it's nothing but two boys acting like boys."

Renkotsu nodded. "I suppose it's better than them acting like rabbits."

"Exactly. That's the spirit, Ren!" Suikotsu patted him on the back. 

The fire-breather grinned. 

"What are you so happy about, Ren?" Jakotsu asked.

"Nothing," he smirked. 

"Nothing...?" The cross-dresser blinked.

"Yeah, 'nothing.' There's nothing funny, Jak, so don't worry about it." Renkotsu chuckled. 

"It can't be 'nothing' if you're still laughing about it," the cross-dresser whined. 

"Good move, Ren," Suikotsu said softly.

"Thanks. I figure it's about time they get a taste of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of their little games," he said just as softly in reply.

The four of them lapsed into silence that was broken by Jakotsu's occasional sighing. Every time he did so, Renkotsu would exchange glances with Suikotsu, before turning back towards the cross-dresser, a big fat grin plastered on his face. Jakotsu, annoyed that his little game was not turning out like he had expected, sighed loudly.

"Ssh... I think Ren's up to something, Sweetness, or it could really be nothing. So don't worry about it," Bankotsu soothed. 

"But it's so annoying," he whined. When Bankotsu shrugged in reply, Jakotsu shoved his hands in his sleeves and looked away, pouting. 

"Come on, Sweetness, it's nothing to get upset over. Ren's just being a pain in the ass as usual," Bankotsu said softly. "Sweetness...?" he reached out and gently turned his paramour's face to look at him. "Come; we're going."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah I had enough sitting around here doing nothing." Bankotsu smiled. "Besides, the quicker we get moving, the quicker we'll get to the next village..." He winked suggestively.

Jakotsu giggled. "And the quicker we can nookie!"

"Exactly!"

Jakotsu let out a happy sigh as they stood up to leave. 

"Now what's wrong?" Renkotsu asked, although he was afraid of the answer.

"Nothing," Jakotsu said airily. "Aniki-chan said it was time to go."

"Oh."

"Yeah..." the cross-dresser grinned.

Bankotsu bent and hoisted the Banryuu onto his shoulder. "Let's go," he said, and grabbing his paramour's hand, they started walking towards the road.

Suikotsu helped the fire-breather up. "See, I told you it was nothing," he deadpanned, although his eyes twinkled with amusement. 

"Yeah..." Renkotsu said dryly as they hurried off after the others.

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "O" is for Opposite.**_


	15. O is for Opposite

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**O" is for Opposite**

Bankotsu chuckled softly while the little drama unfolded before him. Holding out his sake cup, he looked up at Suikotsu and grinned.

Suikotsu smiled as he filled it. 

"They're at it again."

"Yeah, but that's because they're opposites."

"I know," Bankotsu said. "It turned out to be an unexpected bonus."

"How so?" Suikotsu asked. 

"Well, look at them. Whenever Jak gets bored, he picks a fight with Ren and always about the stupidest things too."

"True, but that would have happened sooner or later and not because Jak's bored. They're bound to have differences of opinions, simply because of their natures. Ren's very serious and reserved and Jak's more carefree and frivolous."

"Don't forget Jak's flirtatious."

Suikotsu chuckled. "There's that and well, Ren's rather shy when it comes to expressing those feelings."

"Which makes it all the more funny when Jak flirts with him." Bankotsu laughed.

"That doesn't bother you?" 

Bankotsu sipped his sake. "No, because I know he doesn't mean it. Why? It bother you?"

Suikotsu thought it over. "Actually it does, even though I also know Jak doesn't mean it. It's just that I feel badly for Ren because it bothers him a lot."

"I'll talk to him about it, okay?"

"Thanks, Oo-Aniki," Suikotsu said. "More?" The claw-bearer picked up the sake flask.

"You're welcome." He drained his cup and held it out. "Thanks..."

Suikotsu nodded. He was about to say something when the argument got louder.

"Idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot, Ren, I know why gunpowder explodes."

"You do, do you?" Renkotsu said dryly. "And please, Jak, enlighten me." The fire-breather neatly folded his arms across his chest while he waited for answer. "You know, tell me why it explodes."

Bankotsu chuckled. "This ought to be a good one."

"Yes," Suikotsu said with a smile.

"Ummm... It does when you ummm..." The cross-dresser blinked a few times while he thought about it. "Ummm..."

"I'm waiting..." Renkotsu said smugly.

"I can't think with you staring at me like that!"

"Fine..." The fire-breather shrugged and looked away.

"Ummm... the stuff explodes cuz...ummm...You make it do that!" Jakotsu said as if that was the correct answer.

"Yes," Renkotsu drawled. "But how do I do that?"

"You use your fire stuff."

"He's got you there, Ren, you do light things on fire and they explode," Bankotsu called out.

"See," Jakotsu said smugly, "Even Aniki-chan knows I'm right."

"Uh, yeah..." the fire-breather said dryly.

"You see I'm not stupid, Ren."

Renkotsu looked over at the cross-dresser and let out a long suffering sigh. "No, I guess not."

888

Jakotsu sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Hey, Sui, why does Ren always act like he's got some stick up his ass?"

The claw-bearer looked up at him as he put the weed he had just pulled into the basket. "Ren doesn't have a stick up his ass, Jak," he said patiently.

"I know, Sui, but why does he act like that all the time. Like he knows everything and the rest of us are so stupid."

"Careful, Jak, that's a medicinal herb."

"Oh..." The cross-dresser looked down at the weed he was pulling and saw the claw-bearer was right. "Sorry..."

Suikotsu nodded. "Well to answer your question, Ren's not as carefree as you are. And he takes pride in his education. I know you didn't have the same opportunities he had, but that doesn't mean you're stupid and Ren knows that too. I just think it's because he's not as comfortable around people as you are, and he also has trouble expressing himself which doesn't help."

The cross-dresser nodded.

"You two have trouble getting along, I think, because you're opposites."

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu blinked.

"Yeah. You know how the night and the day are opposite and how wet and dry are opposites, for example. Well, people can be opposites too in how they act." Suikotsu smiled ruefully. "I'm opposites, when you think about it."

Jakotsu frowned and then it hit him. "Good Sui and Scary Sui!"

"Yup. Good Sui is very timid and Scary Sui is beyond brave. One wants to save people and the other wants to destroy them," the claw-bearer said softly.

"Oh..." The cross-dresser nodded.

"And you and Oo-Aniki are opposites too."

"Nah-huh!"

"Yes you are, you're tall and pale, and Oo-Aniki is short and dark."

Jakotsu giggled. "My eyes are dark and his are light!"

The claw-bearer nodded. "And you and Mu are opposites too," Suikotsu said with a smile. He pulled a few nearby weeds and put them in the basket. 

"Yeah! I'm taller than he is, well, everyone is taller than him especially Kyo!" he giggled. "And I'm pretty and he's-"

"Jak, that's not what I meant."

"Oh..."

"He likes women-"

"And I like men!" 

"Exactly!"

Jakotsu giggled. Pulling a few weeds, he put them in Suikotsu's basket. 

"You see, being opposites isn't a bad thing."

"Yeah... So I should try harder to get along with Ren, hunh?"

"I think so. And now that you know you're opposites and that it's not a bad thing, perhaps you can learn to be a bit more like Ren in some things as that would make him happy," Suikotsu said in the same patient tones a parent would use on their child. 

"Well, if he could be a bit more like me that would make me happy too," Jakotsu said petulantly.

"I'll tell him you're going to try and that he should too."

"Thanks, Sui. I do like Ren and not only to tease," Jakotsu giggled, "even though I do find that fun." He grew more serious. "But he's really smart and he knows stuff that I never even heard of." The cross-dresser sighed. "I just wish he didn't make me feel so stupid."

"I'm sorry you feel like that, but I don't think that Ren really wants you to feel that way. Besides, I bet there are things you know that Ren's probably never heard of."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... Ren's life was sheltered compared to yours. You got to meet a wide variety of people, some good, some bad, and you learned about things in the bathhouse that most people don't know."

Jakotsu blinked. "Yeah... and I could teach them to Ren if he wants."

Suikotsu laughed. "Somehow I don't think Ren would want to know that stuff, or learn it from you, if he did. I think that's something he'd rather learn on his own."

Jakotsu laughed as well. "Probably. He doesn't seem comfortable with me knowing stuff like that."

"And that's another example of how you're both opposites."

"Yeah..."

888

Jakotsu looked longingly at the river they were walking along. He was on his way back from a mission with Renkotsu and he was feeling very hot and tired. Ever since they had left the cool dark confines of the forest to travel alongside the riverbank, he felt it calling his name.

"Hey, Ren...?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we stop and take a break for awhile?"

"Why? We're almost home." The fire-breather stopped and looked up into the sun, shading his eyes with his hand. "Hmmm..." He looked back over his shoulder at the cross-dresser. "If we can keep up this pace, we'll be home in time for dinner." Renkotsu raised his eyebrow. "I thought you were anxious to get home to Ban."

"I am, but I'm also hot," Jakotsu whined. "And I want to go swimming. Aren't you hot dressed like that?"

"How can you be hot if you're running around half-naked?"

"I'm not half-naked, Ren."

Renkotsu sighed. "It's an expression, Jak. And while I am hot, if I don't think about it, it doesn't bother me. So don't think about it."

"But I can't..." The cross-dresser pouted. "Come on. Ren, it'll be fun!" Jakotsu's frown quickly became an impish smile.

Renkotsu set his shoulder canon down. He stood there and stared at the cross-dresser with his arms neatly folded across his chest. 

"I promise not to flirt with you..."

The fire-breather sighed. "No, so let's get going and stop wasting time."

"You're no fun!"

"That's not what Sui says," Renkotsu said smugly as he picked up his shoulder canon. Turning back in the direction they were heading in, he started walking. 

Rolling his eyes, Jakotsu said, "I know!" He hurried to catch up with the fire-breather. 

"What do you mean, 'you know?'" The fire-breather slowed his pace.

"Sui said we're opposites."

"Oh..." Renkotsu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah... I don't mind talking about the fun I have with Aniki-chan, while you mind talking about you and Sui and stuff like that."

The fire-breather nodded as they walked along.

"We talked about all kinds of opposite things."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You know, like how Sui is very opposite all by himself and how me and Mu are opposites cuz I like men and he likes women. He also said we should try being more like each other."

"He did?" Renkotsu shot him a surprised look.

Jakotsu nodded. "Yeah! What if we tried it, Ren?"

"I don't know..."

"Hmmm..." The cross-dresser fell silent while he thought it over. "What if we exchanged clothes?"

"What!" Renkotsu stared at the cross-dresser like he had three heads. 

"I thought if we dressed like each other it'd be easier to be more like each other."

"Hmmm... while it sounds good, I don't think it'll work, Jak. First of all you're skinnier than I am, so we can't exchange armor. Secondly, I don't think I'd look as good dressed like a woman as you do."

"Oh..."

"It was a nice try." Renkotsu smiled. "It shows you're ummm, thinking about a situation like I do."

"Really!"

"Yeah. It was actually kind of cute..."

"Are you flirting with me?" Jakotsu asked and it was clear from his tone that he was puzzled by the fire-breather's actions.

"Well... ummm, yeah." Renkotsu held up a hand. "Before you get any ideas, I was merely trying to be more like you. I guess it didn't work, hunh?"

Jakotsu smiled and shook his head. "No... but maybe that's cuz we're just too opposite to be like each other."

"Probably... So do you still want to go swimming that badly?"

"Nah... We're almost home and I miss Aniki-chan."

"I miss Sui too."

They laughed.

"I guess we're more alike that we thought, hunh, Jak?"

"Yeah!"

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "P" is for Parenthood.**_


	16. P is for Parenthood

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_Please note that this story takes place after the end of "Knocked-Up Joke" and is a sequel of sorts._

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**P" is for Parenthood**

Jakotsu sat outside the "love nest," playing with his kitten. "Who's a cute lil baby?" he cooed.

"Mew?"

Walking over to them, Renkotsu said, "Hey, Jak, you haven't seen Ban anywhere, have you?" 

"Say 'hello' to your Uncle Ren, Baby!" the cross-dresser said, and picking up his kitten, he held him out to Renkotsu.

"Nee-yow," Baby mewed. 

Jakotsu beamed at the kitten like a proud parent, before looking up expectantly at the fire breather. "Well?"

Renkotsu frowned. "Well what?"

"Baby said hello to you, so why aren't you saying it back?"

Renkotsu shot the cross-dresser a look that said "you've got to be kidding me..."

"Well?"

Heaving a long suffering sigh, and resisting the urge to rub his temples, the fire-breather said, "Hello, Baby. Happy?"

Jakotsu smiled. "Yes!"

"Good, now have you seen Ban? I need to go over a few things with him about this mission I'm going on."

"Yeah. He's inside, sleeping."

"Oh."

Jakotsu nodded and cuddled his kitten. "That's why we're outside, so Chichi-ue can sleep."

"Chichi-ue...?"

"Yeah... I figured that since Aniki-chan got him for me, he's Baby's father."

"You know if Ban's the father, that makes you the mother," Renkotsu said wryly. 

"What!" the cross-dresser sputtered. 

Baby meowed and squirmed out of his grasp. The kitten hissed at the fire-breather when he bent to pick him up.

"Tsk, tsk, you dropped your Baby, Jak." The fire-breather chuckled and handed the kitten back.

"Ummm... yeah..." Jakotsu held out his hands and took the kitten. After a few minutes of soft cooing, Jakotsu had the kitten, sitting in his lap, purring contentedly.

"Well, I'd better get going. Tell Chichi-ue when he wakes up that I'd like to meet with him as soon as possible."

"Okay..."

As Renkotsu headed back to the main house it was all he could do to keep himself from laughing.

888

"What's so funny, Ren?" Suikotsu asked as his lover entered their room.

The fire-breather chuckled. "Jak. You should have seen his face, Sui. He was outside playing with his cat, and he... he... hehehehehe..."

Suikotsu looked up from the low table where he sat, sorting his herbs. "He what?"

Renkotsu took a deep calming breath. "You know how he calls that cat Baby?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, hehehehe... he said Ban's the cat's father." The fire-breather laughed.

Suikotsu smiled "I know, Ban had said something about it this morning."

"Well, I merely pointed out that if Ban's the father, hehehehe," He paused to control his laughter. "Then he's the mother...hehehe..HAHAHAHA!" Renkotsu roared with laughter at the memory.

"You didn't!" Suikotsu laughed.

Renkotsu nodded.

"We shouldn't be laughing, Ren," Suikotsu gently chided.

"I know...but it's so funny, especially the look on his when I pointed that out."

"Be that as it may, it's also very sweet." Suikotsu chuckled. "It shows he's got a good heart."

Renkotsu nodded. "Yeah..."

The claw-bearer's eyes twinkled with amusement. "You know had it been possible for him to really have been with child, he probably would be a very good mother despite his unusual childhood."

Renkotsu thought it over. "You're right. He did plan to take care of his child had he had one."

Suikotsu nodded. "And I wouldn't tease him too much about the cat, Ren. You don't want Oo-Aniki getting involved."

"True..."

888

Bankotsu stood in the open doorway of the love-nest and yawned. Stretching contentedly, he said, "Thanks for letting me sleep, Sweetness."

Jakotsu, not even bothering to look up at his lover, shrugged in reply.

"You okay, Sweetness?"

The cross-dresser shrugged again.

"Are you mad at me for napping without you?" Bankotsu came over and sat down next to the cross-dresser. Putting an arm around him, he pulled him close. "Sweetness...?" Bankotsu murmured softly into the top of Jakotsu's head. 

"No..." Jakotsu said softly. 

"Then what's wrong?"

"Ren said something and I got to thinking," the cross-dresser said sadly.

"And I told you he's an idiot and not to pay attention to what he says."

"I know... but I couldn't help it."

"What'd he say?"

"I said you're Baby's father and he said that made me Baby's mother..."

"So? He's not the first person who called you a girl." Bankotsu held his lover tightly.

"I know... but, Aniki-chan, my mother..." Jakotsu trailed off softly.

"Ssh... She made a bad decision, but the way I see it, it worked out just fine."

"Yeah...?"

"Yeah. Because if she hadn't left you behind, what would have happened to you? You'd be the vassal of some snot nosed lil half-brother who'd just lord it over you that he knows who his father is and you don't. And then I'd never get to meet you, because how would I find you?"

"I don't know..."

"So it's a good thing she left you behind in the bathhouse," Bankotsu said matter-of-factly. "And I think you'd make a great mother too."

"You do?" Jakotsu asked, although he was not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah... look at how well you take care of Baby. It's not like your mother showed you how to be a mother."

"True... But some of the other girls showed me how to look after my sister."

Bankotsu nodded. "And I bet if we really had made a baby you'd be the perfect mother. Better than my own mother who used to foist me off onto my sisters. I remember thinking, for the longest time, that my sister Fumiko was really my mother."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And didn't you tell Ren that you were going to stay home and take care of our child?"

"Yeah..." Jakotsu said and Bankotsu could hear the smile in his voice. "Too bad I wasn't with child."

"Yeah... That would have been nice even if itcould never happen," Bankotsu said, and gently tilting the cross-dresser's face upwards, he leaned in, and kissed him. 

888

"Hey, Ren!" Bankotsu called out when he spotted the fire-breather sitting outside his workshop. "Jak said you wanted to take to me about something?" 

"Yeah."

The young leader of the Shichinintai walked over to him and sat down. "That's funny cuz I wanted to talk to you about something too."

"Yeah?"

"Yup... You know you upset Jak before," Bankotsu said, getting right to the point.

"How?" the fire-breather asked, clearly at a loss as to what he had said or done.

"Look, I don't know if you know or not, but Jak had a shitty childhood and-"

"I know, Sui told me a little about it and I know better than to bring it up, so what is he so upset about?"

Bankotsu gave his second-in-command a long hard stare, before nodding. Sighing, he said, "He got upset when you called him that damned cat's mother." Bankotsu held up his hand forestalling the fire-breather's protests. "You reminded him of his own mother who wasn't the greatest."

"I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention, Oo-Aniki."

Bankotsu gave him a look that said,"it had better not have been."

"I was merely making a joke about how he calls you baby's father."

"Don't remind me..." Bankotsu said tiredly. 

Renkotsu could not help chuckling at that and was surprised when Bankotsu laughed along with him. 

"All I know is he's been doting on that cat like it was a real baby and... ummm..." Bankotsu, at a loss for words, trailed off softly.

"Say no more, Oo-Aniki; just be glad he's not really a 'hermadingle.'" Renkotsu choked out a laugh. "Or else he'd be sitting around raising a pack of your brats."

Bankotsu laughed. "That's what I'm afraid of!"

"As well you should, Oo-Aniki, with your prowess..." Renkotsu winked.

"I could sire my own army!"

"Exactly!"

They laughed.

"Now what is it you wish to discuss?"

"Just how much firepower I'll need for this new mission," Renkotsu said. He was pleased Bankotsu had found the whole thing with Jakotsu just as amusing as he did because anything resembling criticism where the cross-dresser was concerned was dangerous territory.

888

Suikotsu gently took the cross-dresser's arm and moved it, checking his range of motion. "Your shoulder's as good as new, Jak." 

Jakotsu stuck his arm back into his kimono sleeve. "Good..." he said softly.

"I'd thought you'd be happy to hear that."

The cross-dresser nodded. 

"You don't look happy."

"I am."

"But...?" Suikotsu gently prompted.

"I've been thinking about my mother..."

"I see," Suikotsu said softly.

"Yeah... Aniki-chan said she made a bad choice but it turned out good because we got to meet and all..." Jakotsu looked up at his friend.

"That's a good way of looking at it, Jak." Suikotsu reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "When my Sedako-chan died after giving birth to our child, I was so overcome with grief that I don't think I would have been such a great parent, Jak, had our child lived."

"No?"

"No... It's not that I couldn't find a wet-nurse to look after him, or that I drank myself into oblivion at the time, it's that I would have a horrible parent because every time I looked at our child all I would have been able to see was the cause of my beloved's death."

"Yeah...? But you're good with children, and they like you, Sui."

The claw-bearer nodded. "True, but that's because I think I'm trying to find what I lost and they know it. But children like you too, Jak."

"Heh!" Jakotsu could feel his cheeks heating up. "I just know a lot of games to keep them quiet and away from adults." He shrugged. "It's just stuff I used to play until I started working."

"But you knew how to make that baby stop crying, something nobody else did-"

"Except that baby's mother," he said dryly. "Stupid bitch was too busy chatting Aniki-chan up to care."

Suikotsu made a little sound of amusement. "But we needed that information."

"I know."

"So how did you know what to do?"

"I don't know... It was just something any of us did to make a baby stop crying at the bathhouse." Jakotsu frowned. "Babies usually cry when they're hungry, Sui, unless they're sick or something. And sucking on your finger makes them shut up cuz they think they're sucking on their mother's tittie." He smiled wryly. "That's what Cricket told me. She was really old and she knew lots of stuff about babies."

"I see..." Suikotsu smiled.

Jakotsu smiled back at him.

888

Jakotsu picked up his kitten and set the little ball of black and white fluff into his basket. "'night, Baby," he said softly, running a finger lightly on the kitten's head, before getting up and, coming over to his lover.

"Tucking Baby in for the night?" Bankotsu asked.

Jakotsu sat down next to him. "Yeah..." the cross-dresser said sheepishly.

"You're such a good little mother." Bankotsu pulled him close.

The cross-dresser giggled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah... and I was thinking maybe we should try for another baby," Bankotsu said huskily. He trailed a line of little kisses across his paramour's cheek.

Jakotsu giggled. "Really? So when are we going to get this other cat...?" He kissed his lover.

"Cat?" Bankotsu teased. "I was hoping to make a real baby..."

"Yeah?" The cross-dresser's eyes went wide at the possibility. 

"Yup, remember I told you part of the fun of making a baby is in the trying...?" Bankotsu winked.

Jakotsu nodded, an impish smile lighting up his face. "Uh hunh!" He giggled.

"So let's get the futon." Bankotsu pulled away from him and got up to get it, the cross-dresser trailing behind him.

"Yeah!"

"Because even if it never works..." Bankotsu said huskily. "It's still a lot fun trying, no?"

"Oh yeah..." Jakotsu said breathlessly.

Bankotsu felt a stab of guilt and sighed. "You know we can't really make a baby, Sweetness."

"I know." The cross-dresser smiled and gently cupped his lover's cheek. "And while I'd love to make one with you..."Jakotsu trailed off softly.

"Yeah...?"

"I just remembered what a pain in the ass babies are," Jakotsu said with mock seriousness. "Besides, I'd rather have another cat."

"Fine with me." Bankotsu chuckled as he unrolled the futon and sat down on it. 

"Yeah?" Jakotsu said as he crawled over to him.

"Yeah! Now shut up and kiss me!" Bankotsu said as he pulled his paramour close.

"With pleasure..." Jakotsu said breathlessly as he leaned in to kiss him, all thoughts of parenthood forgotten.

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "Q" is for Quiet.**_


	17. Q is for Quiet

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**Q" is for Quiet**

Jakotsu slowly surfaced from his dream and cracked open his eyes. The dim half light of the wintry morning lent a soft fuzzy edge to the surrounding shadows. Bankotsu was curled up behind him, his butt pushed into the small of Jakotsu's back. The cross-dresser stifled the urge to giggle when his lover, caught up in his dreams, twitched ever so slightly. Sighing softly, Jakotsu reluctantly crawled out from under the heavy quilt and stood up. He shivered in the cold morning air. 

The cross-dresser padded quietly over to the brazier that heated the room. Picking up the metal rod that rested at its base, he poked the dying coals, before adding more. A few bits of used paper and some small twigs later, he had coaxed a small fire into life, heating the coals and ultimately their room. He took a small metal pot and headed towards the shoji leading outside, grabbing a spare quilt on the way. Jakotsu paused and sat on the floor where he put on a pair of leather tabi socks. Wrapping the quilt around his shoulders, and grabbing the pot, he rose to his feet. After casting one last look at his lover, he quietly slid the shoji open and stepped outside, sliding the door shut behind him. 

Big fat wet flakes of snow slowly drifted down from the sky to land on the drifts that blanketed the courtyard. Jakotsu gasped at the scene before him. Everything was covered in white. He shivered, remembering the reason he had gone outside. The floorboards sang when he padded softly to the far end of the covered veranda to his left. 

Once there, he set the pot down and parted the folds of his sleeping kimono, exposing himself. The blast of cold air made it hard to start but once he did, the resulting warmth felt oddly good. Finished, Jakotsu looked down while he adjusted the folds of his kimono and snorted in amusement at the pattern of yellow he had left in the snow. He turned and headed back towards his room. Treading as lightly as he could, his footsteps and the floorboards' song complimented the slowly falling flakes.

He paused just outside his room, and instead of entering, Jakotsu drew the quilt tightly around himself and sat. The snow fell in big silent flakes, dancing prettily in the occasional gust of wind that blew through the pines. The cross-dresser watched, entranced by the quiet beauty of the winter landscape, until the cold got to him. H e stood and turned, his teeth chattering a soft staccato beat in sharp counterpoint to the melody of the floorboards. Pausing to take one last look over his shoulder at the falling snow, Jakotsu sighed softly. He had forgotten the pot. Moving quickly across the singing floor, he quickly reached the pot. Kneeling, he leaned over the veranda and grabbed some snow, careful to avoid the area near the yellow stain that was rapidly disappearing under the falling flakes. He worked quickly because the cold burned his hands and when he was finished, he stood and made his way back to his room.

A cold and shaky hand carefully slid the shoji back so that he could enter. Stepping inside, Jakotsu smiled at the warmth that greeted him and slid the door shut behind him. He set the pot down on the floor, and sitting next to it, he removed the leather tabi socks from his feet. A few minutes later, the pot sat on the low table next to the brazier so that the snow could melt without boiling away, and Jakotsu was crawling back into the warmth of the futon. He snuggled up behind his lover, wrapping an arm around him. 

Bankotsu stirred and murmured sleepily, "Where were you…?"

"I was outside, listening to the quiet," Jakotsu whispered.

"Oh…" Bankotsu yawned. His breathing slowly evened out, signaling his return to sleep. 

Jakotsu kissed the back of his lover's head and lying there, he listened to the familiar quiet of their room. Warming up, he slowly drifted back to sleep…

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "R" is for Rabbits.**_


	18. R is for Rabbits

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: Since this theme was already covered from Jakotsu's POV in a story I wrote with my dear friend, Vega-chan, I decided to switch to another member of the Shichinintai's POV._

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**R" is for Rabbits**

Renkotsu was sitting in the library, enjoying one of the scrolls the former daimyo had left behind when the Shichinintai came through and slaughtered him, his family and retainers. He was so engrossed in the story, he was reading, that it was several minutes before he realized he was not the only person in there. Mentally cursing himself for not noticing sooner, he discovered to his horror there was no way to escape his predicament without alerting the others. So he rubbed his temples and did his best to ignore the intimate activity going on behind the far side of the room's dividing screen. 

"Damn rabbits..." he muttered, trying to lose himself in the story again.

On the other side of the screen one of the rabbits giggled when the other kissed a particularly ticklish spot on his stomach. "Aniki-chan...teehehe..."

The other rabbit chuckled. "Yeah...?" He continued kissing his way down the giggly rabbit's torso. 

"Stop that... teehehe..."

"This?" the second asked, kissing the first rabbit's stomach as he nodded. "Too bad... I'm nearly there." He picked up where he had left off.

The first rabbit giggled some more, although the giggles started taking on a more husky tone, before finally becoming a moan. 

Renkotsu groaned. He had just read the same sentence ten times over and it still made no more sense than it had the first time. Slamming his hands on the table, he pushed away from the table and stood. "If you two rabbits don't mind, I'm leaving."

"Ren?" the second rabbit said in surprise and the fire-breather could hear him blush.

"Ren! Want to join us?" the first rabbit asked.

Renkotsu chuckled softly when the other rabbit hissed for his paramour to shut up. Walking around the screen, he said, "Carry on..." and without a backwards glance he left the room.

888

For several days after the incident in the library, Renkotsu had the time of his life, staring blankly at his leader, and watching him blush. What made it all the more worthwhile, was Bankotsu kept the "rabbiting" confined to the room he shared with Jakotsu. Even better in Renkotsu's humble opinion was the fact that it was all done at night while everyone was mercifully asleep. 

However, the gods must have decided that the fire-breather was enjoying himself too much, for the weather had warmed up and with it, the "rabbiting" moved outdoors into the daylight. Since the hydrangeas had not leafed out enough to act as cover for the rabbits, they found another spot to play in. Unfortunately, the spot they picked happened to be one of the Renkotsu's favorite sketching spots. 

Jakotsu had left a trail of clothing behind him; his scarf here, his obi there. His kimono was thrown carelessly, landing in a multicolored heap of silk. Bankotsu's clothes soon followed. 

Oddly enough, Renkotsu never noticed the clothing as he walked over to the cherry tree. He had been waiting for the right moment to sketch the tree, checking it everyday for the past few days to see if its blossoms had opened. Today when it was covered in pale pink blooms, he knew it was time. The rabbits, who were screened by its thick twisted trunk, were unusually quiet this morning and would have gone unnoticed except Renkotsu had slipped on his leader's discarded obi. Twisting his ankle, he landed with a loud "oomph" as he fell onto to his butt.

Bankotsu and his paramour came running a few minutes later.

"Hey, Ren, are you okay?"

"What happened, Ren?"

The two rabbits knelt before him and peered intently at him, heedless of the fact that not only were they naked, but they had once again been interrupted while having fun. This time Renkotsu felt his cheeks heating up. 

"I'm fine. I just twisted my ankle and it's nothing. I'll have Sui take a look at it as soon as I get back."

"Need any help getting up?" Bankotsu asked.

"No, I'm fine... Go back to doing what you were doing and don't mind me..." Renkotsu said wearily.

The two rabbits exchanged glances.

"Okay!" Jakotsu said, and grabbing his lover by the hand; they disappeared back behind the tree.

Renkotsu groaned and rose painfully to his feet. "Damn rabbits!" he muttered to himself. Picking up his sketchbook, he limped back to the main house.

888

Renkotsu, sketches tucked neatly under his arm, made his way through the outer corridors of their home. He was on his way to his workshop and he was very eager to get started on the new weapon he had designed. Unfortunately, he decided to take a short cut through one of the rooms instead of taking the long way around. 

The room's inhabitants heard him coming and paused in their rabbiting, hoping he would go away. Much to their annoyance, Renkotsu stopped and slid back the shoji. Both rabbits looked up at him and grinned. The fire-breather stood there, blinking several times as he confronted his worst nightmare. His mouth opened and closed like a koi out of water but nothing came out.

Grinning mischievously, Bankotsu tightened his grip on his paramour's hips and continued their rabbiting. 

"Oh, Aniki-chan!" Jakotsu giggled.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity in hell, Renkotsu recovered his senses. Slamming the shoji shut with a loud bang, he turned and continued on his way. 

"Damn rabbits!" he swore.

888

""Ren!" Jakotsu called out. "Where are you? Come; it's dinner time and Kyo's very hungry!" The cross-dresser giggled. "Ren?" he said softly, and peering into the fire-breather' workshop, he spotted him. "There you are!"

Renkotsu sighed wearily. "Yeah."

"Come, it's time to eat."

"I've lost my appetite."

"Are you sick?" Jakotsu walked over to him. "I'll go get Sui if you want."

"No, that won't be necessary, Jak."

"Oh... then what's wrong?" The cross-dresser frowned.

Renkotsu, resisting the urge to rub his temples, sighed again. "Nothing." He stared at the cross-dresser. "Uh, Jak?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something? It's rather personal."

"Okay... What is it, Ren?" 

The fire-breather frowned and looked away and back.

Jakotsu smiled.

Renkotsu took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Why do you two act like rabbits all the time?"

It was the cross-dresser's turn to frown and look away and back while he thought it over. 

"Ummm..." He sighed. "I ummm... do it to keep Aniki-chan, ummm..."

"It's okay; you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Jak."

"No, it's not that... It's just well, ummm... I do it to keep him happy and away from the village girls. You know, if he's got me, then he won't need them, right?"

Renkotsu nodded. He smiled wryly at the cross-dresser's childish logic for it had a grain of truth in it. "Yeah...You know, I never would have thought to do that if I was in your place, Jak, but it appears to be working. And I did overheard two village girls commenting on it the other day when I was in town, but I dismissed it as nothing. Heh!" His smile broadened into a grin. "Good job, Jak!"

The cross-dresser blinked, his look of confusion gradually melting into a smile. "Yeah?"

"Yup. Just one thing, Jak..."

"What?"

Renkotsu sighed. "Don't let it be the only thing you and Oo-Aniki have between you."

"Okay." Jakotsu smiled.

The fire-breather nodded. "Remember, don't be a damn rabbit!"

888

Jakotsu had apparently taken Renkotsu's advice to heart, for things had settled down nicely and there was a definite lack of rabbiting going on. But like most good things, Renkotsu found the peacefulness could only last so long before something exploded and that something was Bankotsu's temper.

"Ssh... I'm sure Oo-Aniki didn't mean it," Suikotsu soothed. 

"Yes he did!" Jakotsu wailed. "He... he..." The rest was drowned out as he buried his face in the claw-bearer's chest and cried.

Renkotsu looked up from his sketchbook. "Now what happened?" he said tiredly.

"I told Aniki-chan...that...uh..." 

"Take a deep breath, Jak, and calm down before you make yourself sick," Suikotsu said softly. 

The cross-dresser did as he was told. "I umm, told Aniki-chan that we should do other stuff together besides nookying and he ummm...he well... um... he said nothing, but he looked ready to kill something and he left."

_Damn rabbits! Now you're bothering Sui with your nonsense!_ "I'll go get him," Renkotsu said wearily.

"Thanks, Ren."

"Yeah, thanks," Jakotsu said, hiccupping softly. 

888

Renkotsu searched the usual places where their leader could be found and unable to find him, he walked out the front gate. There he spotted Bankotsu sitting on a large rocky outcropping. 

"Oo-Aniki?"

Bankotsu ignored him.

Renkotsu walked over to his young leader and stood there, arms neatly folded across his chest while he waited for Bankotsu to acknowledge his presence. 

Bankotsu, however, continued to sulk, trying the fire-breather's patience.

"Oo-Aniki, Jak's upset."

The young leader of the Shichinintai shrugged.

"He thinks you don't love him any more and he's crying his eyes out." Renkotsu smiled inwardly when Bankotsu briefly shot him a worried look. "Oo-Aniki, Ban...?"

This time his leader leveled a blank stare at him in reply. 

"Jak thinks you're in town; whoring it up with the village girls. As much fun as that sounds," the fire-breather paused and noted with amusement the brief smile that flickered across Bankotsu's face. "Isn't what you have at home much more satisfying?" He quirked an eyebrow at the younger man and waited for an answer.

Bankotsu's blank stare hardened. The fire-breather's attitude reminded him of his older brothers and he bristled with anger. 

Renkotsu sighed. "Oo-Aniki, I mean no disrespect." He frowned. "Ban...?"

"What?"

"Can I ask you something I asked Jak the other day? It's somewhat personal, and if you don't wish to answer, it's okay. Just don't ask me to tell you what he said as I won't betray a confidence."

Intrigued, Bankotsu nodded his consent. 

"Why do you two behave like rabbits?" 

The younger man frowned. "I don't know..."

"Fair enough..."

"No, uh..." Bankotsu struggled to put into words something he just realized he took for granted. 

Renkotsu held up a hand. "Say no more, Oo-Aniki, just don't let it be all there is between you."

"Yeah..." Bankotsu slid off the rock and stood up. Smiling cockily at his second-in-command, he waited for the inevitable reply to his unasked question.

"He's in my room with Sui."

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome." Renkotsu watched him saunter off. 

_Damn rabbits! I swear if I had any hair, it'd be greyer than Sui's..._

888

Renkotsu sat in the library, happily reading the scroll he had started last week before the rabbits had come in and disturbed him. Even though he was engrossed in the story, this time he heard the shoji open and two people enter. 

"Ren?"

"Are you in here?"

"Ren?" the first voice called out again. "Maybe he's not here, Aniki-chan."

"Yeah..."

"I'm here." Renkotsu rolled the scroll up from the other end, and leaving it on the low table, he stood up. "I've finished reading so if you wish to enjoy the library, you can. I was just leaving."

"It's okay, Ren, you can stay."

"We'll go."

"Stay, Oo-Aniki, Jak," Renkotsu said. He stepped out from behind the room's dividing screen. "I thought I'd go see if Sui needed any help in his garden."

"Okay."

"Bye, Ren!"

"Bye..." Renkotsu nodded briefly in their direction and left. As he closed the shoji behind him, he heard the cross-dresser giggling. Shaking his head, the fire-breather walked away, chuckling softly to himself._Damn rabbits!_

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "S" is for Serious.**_


	19. S is for Serious

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: Yoru Mo Hippare is a real Japanese music program that airs on Saturday nights. It's a karaoke program featuring celebrities past and present singing the top ten hits of the week. Its popularity stems from the fact that it can either be very good depending on the guest, or very bad._

_Tiffany's the famous jewelry store in New York recently opened a couple of boutiques in Tokyo._

_Toriyoshi Dining is a real yakitori pub designed for dates. Originally it was a place for business men and office girls to grab a quick dinner before heading home late on the train. Toriyoshi, its sister restaurant, still serves their famous wings._

_Oneesan means "Miss" in Japanese as well as sister. Here it's used as "Miss."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**S" is for Serious**

Bankotsu cracked open his eyes, and reaching across the warm body in the futon with him, he grabbed the ringing cell phone. Flipping it open, he answered it. "Hello..." he said sleepily.

"_Jak...?"_

"No..."

"_Sorry."_ The person hung up.

Bankotsu hung up the phone and set it down. Yawning softly, he snuggled up against Jakotsu. He was drifting off to sleep when the phone rang again. Sighing wearily, he reached for it again and answered it. "Hello..."

"_Jak...?"_

"No..."

"_Sorry."_ The line went dead again.

Once again Bankotsu hung up the phone and set it down. Rubbing his forehead tiredly, he settled back against his lover, thinking how nice it was going to be waking up with Jakotsu each morning. As his pleasant thought gave way to the beginning of a dream, the cell phone rang again. Growling, Bankotsu reached for it. Flipping it open, he hissed, "Who the hell is this?"

"_Jak...?"  
_

"No it's not Jak!" he whispered into the phone. "Jak's sleeping and I would be too if you didn't call here every two minutes!"

The person on the other end said softly, _"I'm sorry, I'm his friend, Suikotsu. I was calling to see if the move went okay. I was supposed to help him, but I was put on call yesterday when another doctor had an emergency and I just got home."_

"Oh... sorry. It's Ban."

"_Ban?"_

"Bankotsu. Kusao Bankotsu."

"_I'm sorry, Kusao-san. My brain's a bit fuzzy from the thirty six hour shift I just pulled."_

"Please call me Ban, okay?" 

"_Okay, Ban-san."_

"Ban. And if you'll hold on a sec, I'll wake him."

"_Sure..."_

Bankotsu sat up and nudged his lover with his free hand. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he said softly.

Jakotsu mumbled something incoherent and rolled over onto to his side. 

Bankotsu tried again. "Wakey, Wakey..." said as he gave the sleeping cross-dresser another gentle shake. "Come on, Jak, wake up."

"Hmm... goaway..."

"Jak...Jakotsu... wake up, Sweetness..." Bankotsu said a little louder. "Sui's on the phone."

"Hunh...?" Jakotsu cracked open an eye.

Bankotsu chuckled. "Your big sister wants to know how your date went last night. Now get up..."

Jakotsu rolled onto to his back and stared bleary-eyed at his boyfriend. "Who...?"

"Sui. He called a few times." Bankotsu handed him the phone.

"Oh..." Jakotsu took the proffered cell phone and answered it. "Sui?"

"_Hey, Jak. I'm sorry I woke you, but I just got home. I wanted to know how the move went."_

"Good... it went good, Sui." The cross-dresser yawned. 

"_If I had known you had company I would have slept first and then called."_

"That's okay... Ummm..." Jakotsu looked over at his lover. 

"_Jak? Want me to go?"_ Suikotsu asked.

"No, Sui... Ummm... 'Serious,'" Jakotsu said impishly.

"'_Serious...?' But you've only known each other a short time."_

"I know... But this one is 'Serious.'" Jakotsu gently cupped his lover's cheek when he frowned. "I feel like I've known him forever, Sui." He smiled at Bankotsu.

On the other end of the phone, Suikotsu frowned._ "But that's what you said about Naraku and look at what a disaster that turned out to be."_

"I know, Sui... But this is different. It feels... I don't know..." He giggled. "Different."

Suikotsu snorted in amusement. _"So he's good in bed," _he said flippantly, before continuing more seriously, _"But that doesn't mean-"_

Jakotsu cut him off. "I know, Sui, but this feels like the real deal. And once you get to know him, you'll see that." Jakotsu sighed softly. "He's a keeper, Sui."

Suikotsu sighed. _"I wish I shared your optimism."_

"Look, we both got burned, but we both have to move on and get over it."

"_I know that, Jak. But..."_

"But nothing. You're tired and I'm tired and now's not the time to discuss this. Look, why don't you get some sleep and come over later for dinner. And ummm... I hope you don't mind boxes all over the place."

"_No. Wait, you mean to tell me your kitchen's clean and unpacked already? I guess this really is 'Serious.'"_

Jakotsu laughed. "It's 'Serious,' but we never got around to that yet. After we moved my stuff in, we went over to his place and start packing a few of his things up." Jakotsu giggled. "Now I have two apartments! One here and one on the other side of Tokyo!"

Suikotsu laughed. _"I thought you wanted a summer home in Osaka."_

Jakotsu laughed. "Anyway, I'm going to go so you can get some sleep. Give me a call when you wake up, okay?"

"_Sure... Uh, Jak, before I go, do you want me to bring something over for dinner?"_

"That's okay, Sui. There's a little Chinese take-out place down the block. I'll order from there."

"_Okay. Later, Jak."_

"Bye, Sui..." Jakotsu hung up the phone and set it down. "Sorry about that, Ban."

"That's alright. From the way you've talked about him, I had the feeling Suikotsu was a good friend."

"Yeah... that he is."

"So uh, what's all this about 'serious' if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all. Serious was a code word, Sui and I had from way back, that we used whenever we found someone that we liked a lot and wanted something more from them than just a good time," Jakotsu said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... We've both had our share of disastrous 'seriouses,' but this time I know I've got nothing to worry about as I have a good feeling about this one..." Jakotsu gently stroked his lover's cheek.

Bankotsu reached up, and pulling him close, kissed him. 

888

Bankotsu sat in his office at the record studio, toying with his cell phone and staring at the calendar. He had spent the past ten minutes having a mental debate over whether or not to call Suikotsu. The record producer took a deep breath and flipped open his phone. He keyed the menu function and seconds later the phone was busy dialing for him. Holding the phone against his ear, Bankotsu counted the rings. _One... two... three... Pick up, Sui... four... five...Damn it! Where are you? _

"_Hello?"_

"Sui?"

"_Yes...? Everything alright, Ban?"_

"Yeah... Look, are you free for lunch?"

"_Yes; why? Are you sure there's nothing wrong, Ban?"_

"Yeah... I need to ask you something. I'll send a car around to pick you up. Are you home or at the clinic?"

"_I'm off today."_ Suikotsu looked at his watch. _"So I can expect the car in half-hour?"_

"Yeah. Thanks, Sui. And uh..."

"_Yes?"_ There was a note of amusement in the pediatrician's voice. 

"Don't let Jak know we're meeting for lunch if he calls."

"_Okay. But isn't he working today? I thought he said something the other day about appearing on Yoru Mo Hippare."_

"Yeah. He's supposed to be taping today, but I have no idea how long that'll take and since he's so good about not bothering me here..." Bankotsu trailed off.

"_You have the feeling he'd call me for lunch,"_ Suikotsu finished for him._ "Okay, you have a date, my friend."_

Bankotsu laughed and hung up his cell phone.

888

Thirty minutes later a car pulled up and when Suikotsu got inside, he was surprised to see Bankotsu.

"Hey, Ban."

"Sui."

The car pulled away and headed back towards to heart of Tokyo's shopping district, the Shibuya. The two men made small talk during the trip and Suikotsu had the feeling his best friend's lover was dancing around the real reason why he was invited on this little excursion. When they pulled up in front of Tiffany's newest boutique and got out, Suikotsu shook his head as he followed Bankotsu inside.

"Ban, if you don't mind me asking, why are we here?"

"I ummm... I wanted to get Jak something from here. He said you two visited the place when you were in New York."

"Oh..." Suikotsu waited for his best friend's lover to join him on the sidewalk. "But you're mistaken on that one, Ban. Jak went to Tiffany's; I only heard about it when I got back to the hotel room."

"Oh..." Bankotsu frowned.

"It's okay, Ban. Jak's going to love whatever you get him. I remember he bought a bracelet from Tiffany's New York when we were there, and he was so upset too when he lost it. I know he kept meaning to buy another one, but he never did."

"I was thinking of something else, Sui."

"Yeah? Like what? A watch?"

They were wandering around the store looking at the various displays. 

"I was thinking of something that would show him how serious I am."

"Serious?" Suikotsu asked and Bankotsu nodded. The pediatrician smiled. 

"Yeah... I mean we have been together for a while now.""

"Ten years, my friend, is more than 'a while.'" They laughed. "So, I take it you want to look over at the rings, hunh?"

Bankotsu nodded and they left the bracelets to have a look at the rings. 

"What about this one, Ban?"

"No... I'll know it when I see it. I want it to look like an engagement ring." He sighed. 

"Then let's look at engagement rings."

An hour later, they left Tiffany's, a little blue box safely tucked away in Bankotsu's pocket.

"Not only is he going to love it, Ban, he's going to know you're serious beyond a shadow of a doubt."

"I hope so..."

"I know so." Suikotsu smiled reassuringly. 

888

Bankotsu sat in the restaurant with Jakotsu's parents, nervously toying with his food. While he was sure Jakotsu's mother was enjoying herself, he could see his father was getting impatient. Taking a deep breath, and praying he did not mess things up, Bankotsu blurted out, "Hibiya-san, I have something I wish to ask you."

"What is it, Kusao-san?"

"You know Jak and I have been together for a long time..."

"Yes?" Jakotsu's father prompted.

"Well, if ummm... things had been a little different, I'd ummm..."

"What is it, Kusao-san?"

Bankotsu looked down at his plate, before looking up at his lover's parents. "What I'm trying to say is had your son been a daughter, I'd be asking you for permission to marry him. But since he's not, I want your permission to formalize our relationship."

"I see. And what does your aunt have to say about this?"

"My aunt said if it makes me happy, then it makes her happy."

"And why is she not here?"

"She's not well, sir. And she's been staying with my cousin and her family. She sends her regrets and wishes to meet with you as soon as she can."

Jakotsu's parents exchanged glances. "Why isn't Hirata-sensei here?" his father asked.

"Hunh?" Bankotsu's confusion was clearly seen on his face.

"Is he not your go between?" Jakotsu's father said; quirking an eyebrow at Bankotsu. 

"Oh... No, actually he's keeping Jak busy so I could meet with you in private. I really wanted to speak with you in person since this is a most unusual circumstance."

"Fair enough." Jakotsu's father looked at his wife, who smiled. "When should my wife call her niece and ask for her wedding kimono back?"

"You're saying you don't mind?"

"You make our son happy and that's the important thing. Besides, I have given up a long time ago trying to figure out my son, Kusao-san," Jakotsu's father said tiredly.

Bankotsu smiled. "Tell me about it..."

888

"You look beautiful..." Bankotsu said softly when Jakotsu entered their living room.

"You think?" the cross-dresser said saucily.

Bankotsu got up came over to him, and snaking his arms around Jakotsu's waist, he pulled him close. "Oh yeah. Maybe we should skip going out and just stay here," he teased. 

"Nah-uh! You promised me a night out and we're going out!" Jakotsu said, playfully pouting.

Bankotsu grinned wickedly at him. "Okay, you win. We'll go out."

"Good. So where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise..."

"Oooh! I love surprises."

"I know you do, Sweetness, and I think you're going to especially love this one."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Jakotsu smiled. Taking his lover's face in his hands, the cross-dresser gently tilted his face up and kissed his forehead, careful not to leave any lipstick behind. "Now get your hands off my ass so we can go," he said playfully.

888

Jakotsu sighed. "Thank you so much for taking me to Toriyoshi Dining. I just love this place."

"I know," Bankotsu chuckled. "We've been coming here for what? Years?"

"Yeah... They used to have the best wings, no?"

"Oh yeah! But I kind of like the way its menu has evolved."

"True... But then the food's always been good here."

"I know... I guess that's why it's your favorite place, hunh?" Bankotsu smiled, and reaching across the table, he put his hand on top of Jakotsu's.

"Yeah..." Jakotsu also smiled.

"You feel like dessert?"

"Of course. You know how much I love their chocolate cake."

"Sweetness, you love everyone's chocolate cake." 

They laughed.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go tinkle," Jakotsu whispered. "I'll be back in a few. If they come for the dessert order, get me a slice of cake and a cup of cocoa. I've been craving the stuff for days now."

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Bankotsu teased. 

Jakotsu laughed. "I think I'm a little too old for that at forty."

"Plenty of women have children that late in life."

"True..." The cross-dresser tapped his finger on his lower lip. "But last time I looked I was missing the necessary equipment."

"That's okay; I still love you."

"You sure? I mean if you want a real woman to give you that family you want, I'll understand..." Jakotsu trailed off softly, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Sweetness... Whatever gave you that idea?" Bankotsu frowned in confusion.

The cross-dresser stood up to leave. "Look, I need to go, Ban. I'll be back, I promise." He turned and hurried off towards the Ladies' room.

_Damn it... _Bankotsu sighed and watched him go.

"Everything okay, sir?" the waiter asked.

Bankotsu looked up at him blankly as he had never heard the waiter approach. "Yes..." Before the waiter could go, he added, "The lady and I would like a slice of your chocolate cake and a cup of cocoa, thanks."

Twenty minutes later, Jakotsu emerged from the bathroom and sat down as if he had only been gone a few minutes. It was clear he had been crying, but Bankotsu chose to ignore it, especially since he seemed happy to have the chocolate cake. Things were going good until the cross-dresser noticed the little blue box to the right of his plate.

"Someone go to Tiffany's without me...?" Jakotsu said testily.

Bankotsu sighed. "Yes."

Jakotsu frowned. "Yes? Why?"

"It was a surprise. Now open it." Bankotsu took a bite of his cake and ate it. 

Jakotsu picked up the little blue box and carefully untied the white ribbon around it. Setting the ribbon down, he opened the blue box and slid the inner jewelry box out. "A ring box...?" he said softly, half to himself and half to Bankotsu.

"Yup. Open it."

Jakotsu nodded and did as he was told. "Oh my word..." he said in the same soft tones he used before. "It's beautiful..." He looked up at Bankotsu, teary-eyed. 

"You like it?"

"Like it...? I love it!" The cross-dresser slid the ring, with the heart-shaped diamond, on. "And it fits perfectly too!"

Bankotsu smiled. "So will you stay with me forever? I'd ask you to marry me, but since that's not possible-"

"Shut up and kiss me..." Jakotsu said, playfully using one of his lover's favorite lines.

"Not until you tell me your answer..." Bankotsu leaned across the table, meeting his lover half way.

"Yes..." Jakotsu whispered as he captured Bankotsu's lips with his own.

888

Jakotsu stood in the kitchen and dialed home. Tapping his fingernails on the counter, he waited patiently for one of his parents to answer.

"_Hello...?"_

"Haha-ue! It's me, Jak..."

"_Hello, Jackson... How are you?"_

"I'm fine and you?"

"_I'm fine too. And how is your friend, Kusao-san?"_

"He's fine, Haha-ue. How's Chichi-ue?"

"_Good... Is there anything wrong? You don't normally call so early."_

"Yeah, and things are fine, Haha-ue! In fact they couldn't be better! Ban asked me to be his life-partner! Haha-ue, I got a ring too! He said I should ask you about your wedding kimono." Jakotsu held up his hand and looked at his ring. "Although, I think he was just teasing me."

"_That's wonderful, Jackson. Your father and I always knew he was a good man. I'm glad you will happy with him."_

"Haha-ue...?"

"_Yes?"_

"You didn't say anything when I mentioned your wedding kimono..."

"_Yes?"_

"Why?"

Jakotsu could feel his mother smiling on the other end of the phone._ "Because Kusao-san came and asked us for permission to formalize things, or whatever it is called. He seemed to think you'd want to wear it."_

"He did!"

"_Yes... He took us for a nice lunch the other day and that's when he told us."_

"Oh... So you don't mind?"

"_Jackson honey, I don't have a daughter, but the gods in their infinite wisdom have blessed me with a son who is as much a daughter as any woman could want. So I would be pleased if you wore it. Do you know when you'll need it?"_

"No... We haven't set a date yet. I just want something small with just the family and a few close friends. Well, the family treats me like I belong..."

"_I understand, my son."_

"You do?"

"_Yes... At least with a small wedding, it'll be easier for you to afford it, no?"_

Jakotsu laughed. "Haha-ue, I can afford the most lavish of weddings and still have money left to have a wonderful honeymoon and a house to live in."

"_Just save your money for a time when you may need it."_

"I will, Haha-ue..."

"_Is that all, Jackson?"_

"Yeah... Love you, Haha-ue..."

"_I love you too, my son."_

888

"What about this one?" Jakotsu pointed to a simple platinum band. 

"It's nice, Sweetness. Can we please see this one, Oneesan?" Bankotsu asked the salesgirl.

"Of course." She took the ring out and placed it on a velvet pad to show them. 

Jakotsu picked it up and slipped it on the tip of his ring finger. "What do you think?"

"I like it."

"Then let's get it."

Bankotsu smiled. 

"Oneesan, is it possible to get them inscribed?" the cross-dresser asked.

"Yes. Please give me a minute to get the paperwork." 

While they waited, Jakotsu held onto Bankotsu's arm. "I can't believe this is happening," he gushed.

"I know..."

The cross-dresser sighed. "I've got a million and one things to do now."

"At least one thing is done, no?" Bankotsu said with an amused smile.

"Yeah." Jakotsu giggled. 

"What would you like them to say?" the sales girl asked when she returned.

"On the one it should say, 'serious about my Sweetness' and on the other 'Dumpling is my serious.'"

The salesgirl wrote it down and had them double check the spelling. After Bankotsu paid her, they left.

They made their way leisurely to the train station, window shopping along the way. Once inside the station, Bankotsu bought them a can of coffee from a vending machine. "You happy about all this?" he asked. 

"Yeah..." Jakotsu smiled. "Deliriously happy..." He sighed. "I keep thinking I'm dreaming."

"And you don't want wake up?"

"Nope!" The cross-dresser giggled, before growing more serious. "Ban, you know the press is going to have a field day with this."

"So?"

"So! You don't think two high profile men getting married, because no matter what we're calling it, that's basically what it is and you know it, isn't news worthy to the point of creating a media circus?"

"Sweetness, we've been living together for ten years now and it hasn't hurt either one of our careers. In fact I think you're even more popular now with the ladies than you were before when you were pretending to be straight with no time for a relationship. And getting married is like the icing on the cake for them. Women love this wedding crap," Bankotsu said, and when he noticed the upset look in his lover's eyes, he quickly added, "and I mean that in general sense. Weddings on soap operas always garner the most ratings, and even when one of my pop stars gets married, their record sales go up."

"But men aren't supposed to marry each other."

"But nothing. Even though we can't legally have that paper saying we're married, not to mention putting it in the public record, we can still have a monk bless what we have." Bankotsu held up his hand. "Monks bless all sorts of contracts, Sweetness, and marriage is basically a contract between two people so stop worrying about it, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Now drink your coffee, Sweetness, before it gets cold."

Jakotsu nodded and they both took a sip as they sat in companionable silence.

Smiling impishly, Jakotsu reached over and took his lover's hand. "Serious..."

Bankotsu, grinning in reply, brought their entwined hands up and kissed his lover's fingers. "Serious..."

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "T" is for Time.**_


	20. T is for Time

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: "Time in My Heart" is a song from the anime "Gravitation." It was sung by Kotani Kinya and can be found on his 1999 album, "Mad Soldiers; LABORATORY." _

_**Please note that this is the sequel to the previous piece, "S" is for Serious. **_

"_Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment can be eternity; eternity can be the tick of a clock._" Mary Parrish

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**T" is for Time**

Jakotsu lay in the futon, on the floor of his parent's living room, counting the ticks of the clock as the night crept towards morning. He was exhausted, yet he was all wound up at the same time, and he found it hard to sleep. The fact that futon felt like it was spinning slowly off into space did not help matters either. Clutching the Hello Kitty plushie Bankotsu had given him when he was in the hospital, Jakotsu let his mind drift back to events of the past evening.

They had gone to a karaoke bar in lieu of a bachelor/bachelorette party and had rented one of the upstairs party rooms. Jakotsu smiled at the memory of them all taking turns and, singing a mix of popular songs and anime music. One song stood out in particular, since Bankotsu had been content to sit back and enjoy his friends' singing. Jakotsu remembered standing at the bar, talking with Kagura when one of his favorite anime songs came on. He had groaned because he had wanted to sing it when it came up in the rotation, what he had not counted on was the singer who was singing it instead.

"Kasumu yume no tsuzuki wo kimi ga mitai to ima nozomu no nara... hashiru toki wo toraete kimi no BEDDO ni todokete mo iize..."

The rest of lyrics seem to float past his brain without registering until Bankotsu got to the refrain.

"Time in my heart...kotae no nai sekai mo nai kitto...Time in my heart...subete ga aru kimi no yume ni ORE wo irete..."

As clichéd as it had sounded when he told Bankotsu afterwards that he had felt as if they were the only ones in the room, Jakotsu knew it was true. For one brief moment in time the lovers were in a place all their own and the outside world did not exist. The fact that Jakotsu had always thought of it as their song only added to the warm and fuzzy feelings the memory gave him when he heard his lover singing in his head.

"Time in my heart... kotae no nai sekai mo nai kitto... Time in my heart...subete ga aru kimi no yume ni ORE wo irete..."

888

Jakotsu's mother padded softly into the living and knelt by her sleeping son. She smiled and gently brushed the hair out of his eyes, seeing not a forty year old man, but the little boy he had once been. She sighed, reluctant to wake him and yet knowing that she had to, because they had a long morning ahead of them with barely enough time to get ready. 

"Jackson..." she said softly, gently shaking him. "You must wake up, my son."

Jakotsu groaned. "FivemoreminutesHahaue..."

"I'm sorry, Jackson, but I've already let you sleep longer than you should. Come, get up and go get ready. I'll bring your tea if you like in the bath, but you have to get up. NOW!" she raised her voice on the last word, something she rarely did, but it had the desired effect. Jakotsu was awake. 

The cross-dresser sat up and looked around bleary-eyed, his hand over his wildly beating heart. For a minute there, he could have sworn he was sixteen and nearly late for school. "Good morning, Haha-ue..." he said softly. Now that his heartbeat was slowing down, his hangover hit him right between his eyes. Smiling sweetly at his mother, he crawled out of the futon and stood up, instantly regretting it.

"Here," she said softly, handing him a glass of water and a couple of aspirins. "Kusao-san said you had a little too much sake last night when he dropped you off and that you would need it."

"A little too much, doesn't begin to cover it, Haha-ue..." Jakotsu took the aspirin and swallowed both them and a mouthful of water. 

"Apparently as Nishi-san said you did a strip-tease in the bar. Jackson, what kind of party was this?"

"So that's what happened to my panties..." he said ruefully. "Everyone kept filling my cup, Haha-ue, and it wasn't like I was the only one naked."

"That's not what Nishi-san said," his mother said reprovingly.

"Well, Nishi-san was just as naked if I remember correctly..." Jakotsu smiled contritely. "I'd better go bathe, hunh?"

"I think that would be a good thing to do while I make breakfast. Thank goodness your father was asleep, Jackson, when you came home." 

Jakotsu chuckled. "Why do I have the feeling I'm about to get grounded again?"

His mother smiled. 

888

Jakotsu stood in the kitchen, dressed in a hadajuban and susoyoke, his nagajuban thrown casually over the traditional undergarments like a bathrobe, drinking tea. He glanced at the clock and groaned when he saw only five minutes had passed since he last looked. He winced when he heard his mother calling for him. 

"Jackson? Where are you? Are you dressed yet?" his mother said, her voice scarcely louder than her soft footsteps. "The hairdresser will be here any minute now and your girlfriends are starting to arrive. Jackson? You're not outside smoking are you?"

"No, Haha-ue. I'm in the kitchen, having tea. Although, I wouldn't mind a quick smoke; got any cigarettes?" Jakotsu said when he turned to face his mother, who just entered the kitchen. One look at her face and Jakotsu was sorry he had asked. 

"No, I don't have any cigarettes and your father gave them up years ago when the doctor told them they were affecting his health. Are you smoking?" She frowned.

"No, Haha-ue... I only smoked that one time when I was nine and you caught me. My arse still hurts just thinking about it," he said ruefully. "I'd really like some chocolate cake, but the way my stomach feels, I think I would be ill..."

His mother's glare softened into concern. "You're not getting sick are you?"

"No..." Jakotsu sighed. "I just have the hangover from hell combined with a bad case of nerves." He sipped his tea.

"Stop with the tea already," she gently admonished. "It'll make you go too much..." she trailed off softly.

"I don't have anything left to go with, Haha-ue."

"Ahem!"

"Sorry..." Jakotsu moved to give his mother a hug. "Haha-ue...?"

"Yes?"

"When'd you get so small?"

"About twenty five years ago when you started to grow up..."

"Oh..."

888

"Please keep still, Hibiya-san, or else I'm only going to wind up pulling your hair," said the hairdresser for the umpteenth time. 

"Sorry, but I'm too antsy to sit still. Plus I need to go do something," Jakotsu said.

"Can't it wait?" the hairdresser said irritably as she pulled, twisted and pinned the cross-dresser's hair into shape.

"No, I'm sorry; it can't wait."

"Jackson, you will sit there and behave," his mother said.

Jakotsu pouted, reminding his mother once again of the little boy he used to be. He sat there, obeying her wishes, while desperately trying to ignore his bladder, and even the parade of visitors and friends did little to take his mind off the discomfort. Minutes dragged and felt like hours until at last she was finished putting his hair up in the traditional bunkin-takashimada style. She added various kanzashi, the beautiful hair ornaments his mother had worn at her wedding, to the finished hairstyle along with two golden tsuno "horns" to the front. As soon as it was politely possible, the cross-dresser escaped into the privacy of the bathroom.

888

His father, standing in front of the bathroom door, knocked and called out, "Jackson, get out of there, now!" 

"I'll be out in a minute, Chichi-ue!"

"You've been in there a half hour already, and you're upsetting your mother. Now get out!"

Seconds later the door opened and the cross-dresser emerged, looking pale and drawn. 

His father shook his head and handed Jakotsu a teacup. "Drink up."

Jakotsu took a sip and coughed. "Chichi-ue! That's sake!"

"I know. Your mother said you were hungover and nervous about this whole thing. Sake is a good cure-all as my grandfather used to say."

Jakotsu laughed and drained the cup. "Thanks, Chichi-ue."

His father held up a hand. "You wish to thank me? Then stop acting like a spoiled child and grow up!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, now go to my room, your mother's waiting for you with the kimono-dresser."

Jakotsu nodded and hurried off to do what he was told.

The elder Hibiya sighed as he watched his son hurry off towards his bedroom.

888

"Why aren't you made-up, Jackson?" 

"Because I was hiding in the bathroom..." the cross-dresser said dryly. "Haha-ue?"

"Yes?"

"You went through all this when you got married?"

"Yes, Jackson, I did. And my parents, especially my mother, made me crazy. My older sisters did their part too. But I got through it and a big move to New York on top of it. And I didn't even know English at the time your father was transferred there. Rosenberg-obaasan taught me."

"I saw her that time I went to New York with Sui. I still can't believe she took the time to make me a chocolate cake when I told her I was coming to see her." He sighed happily. "I always felt lucky I had three grandmothers instead of two."

"She was a good woman," his mother said.

"Yeah... She didn't even bat an eyelash when I showed up dressed like a woman. I remember she found the whole thing funny. What did she say?" he frowned as he tried to remember. "Yes! 'Stupid doctors' wives can't see past their diamonds and furs.'" He laughed along with his mother.

"Now go hurry up and put on your face, my son."

"Yes, ma'am." Jakotsu hurried over to the living room and grabbed his make-up case. He briefly stopped in the kitchen to have a glass of water, although, he would have preferred a cup of tea. Minutes later, he was sitting at his mother's dressing table, carefully applying a lighter version of the traditional geisha make-up to give his complexion a fine porcelain glow. A half an hour later and looking more woman-like than ever, Jakotsu was ready to put on his mother's wedding kimono. Since it had been made for his maternal grandmother Takako, who had been as tall and thin as he was, it would fit perfectly.

Jakotsu stood there as the dresser tied the nagajuban properly around him, before setting to work, tying various padding around his waist and hips. A hiyoku was layered on over that and tied. The dresser fussed with the length for several minutes although it felt like hours to Jakotsu. He preferred dressing himself with minimum assistance, but getting dressed in a kimono, and especially a wedding kimono, required more help than he was used to dealing with. Just when the cross-dresser felt like he would scream in frustration if he was not left alone for two minutes, the dresser stepped back after setting the tsuno kakushi, or white wedding hood on his head, and smiled.

"You look beautiful, Hibiya-san."

"Thank you."

888

After various friends and relatives took his picture, Jakotsu sank back in the chair and wondered how long it would be until he could go to bed. He felt so exhausted that he was willing to beg Bankotsu in to letting him sleep until morning and consummate their union then. Sighing wearily, he caught Kagura staring at him, and he barked out a little laugh when she rolled her eyes at him. 

Sauntering over to him, she smirked and looked at her watch. "Sui'll be here in a few minutes and then we can go, Sugar."

"It's that late already?"

"Yeah, they managed to fuss and primp your whole morning away without you knowing." She laughed. 

Jakotsu laughed. "Damn, I must have been having fun, too bad nobody told me, hunh?"

"Too bad for you." She smiled. "By the way, your darling life-partner-to-be read us the riot act, so no matter how much she irritates me, I promised to ignore Kikyou."

"Yeah?" Jakotsu chuckled. "And here I was looking forward to a reenactment of 'Godzilla vs. King Kong,'" he deadpanned.

Kagura laughed. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Yup, as everyone was kind enough to point it out to me this morning," the cross-dresser said sweetly as she shook her head at him.

"Jak, you ready?" Suikotsu called out as he entered the living room.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"If it's any consolation you look beautiful, Jak."

"Thanks, Sui."

"I guess it's time to go, hunh?" Kagura said.

"Yup. Shall we?" Suikotsu held out his hand and helped Jakotsu up.

"Come, Haha-ue, Chichi-ue! It's time to go!"

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "U" is for United.**_


	21. U is for United

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note; The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Please note that this is the sequel to the previous piece, "T" is for Time and is the final story in a mini trilogy that started with "S" is for Serious. **_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**U" is for United**

_Miriam Webster Online defines "united" as  
Function; __verb__  
Inflected Form(s); __**unit·ed**__**unit·ing**__  
Etymology; Middle English, from Anglo-French '__uniter,'__ from Latin '__unitus,'__ past participle of '__unire,'__ from '__unus'__ one -- more at __**one**__  
__transitive verb__  
__**1 a**__ to put together to form a single unit __**b**__ to cause to adhere __**c**__ to link by a legal or moral bond  
__**2**__ to possess (as qualities) in combination  
__intransitive verb__  
__**1 a**__ to become one or as if one __**b**__ to become combined by or as if by adhesion or mixture  
__**2**__ to act in concert  
__**synonym**__ see __**join**__  
- __**unit·er**__noun_

888

Renkotsu's uncle, the monk who had overseen their commitment ceremony, said one final prayer and it was over. "You are now as united as a married couple would be and may you be blessed with long and peaceful relationship," he said softly and before Jakotsu knew it, he was being escorted out of the temple. There he posed for several pictures, the bright lights of the cameras' flashes making his head throb. The sake he and Bankotsu had drunk during the ceremony, instead of easing his hangover, only made him feel sicker and he was relieved to finally get in the car and drive off with Bankotsu.

"Are you okay, Sweetness?" Bankotsu asked. He took Jakotsu's hand and gently squeezed it.

"Yeah... I'm just hungry. I didn't get a chance to have breakfast this morning."

"We'll be there soon and then you can eat all you want."

"Yeah..." Jakotsu said softly. Closing his eyes, leaned against Bankotsu and sighed.

888

He had played a bride on TV several times as well as briefly appearing as one in a movie, so waiting around to be introduced was no big deal to the cross-dresser. This time however, it was all the sweeter, for it was not only real in a sense, but he was happily sitting on Bankotsu's lap while his life-partner fussed over him. That in and of itself did wonders for the cross-dresser's mood. He felt calmer, and his headache was easing up. Even his stomach felt better and Jakotsu was looking forward to finally eating something.

After his parents had been introduced, Jakotsu and Bankotsu stood up and walked into the reception hall where Suikotsu called them over to be introduced as a couple. Or he would have introduced them if Jakotsu hadn't fainted. The cross-dresser and his new life-partner took about three steps when Jakotsu felt the room spin violently just before everything went black and he crumpled to the floor, pulling Bankotsu down with him.

"_Give him some air!"_

"_Sweetness!"_

"_Jackson?"_

"_Jak!"_

"_What's wrong with him?"_

"_He fainted. He'll be okay, Hibiya-san. Ban, raise his feet. Sessh, get him some orange juice..."_

Jakotsu could hear everyone talking excitedly as well as feeling someone fussing over him. He struggled to come too, but it just felt so good, lying there in the mind-numbing darkness of his fainting spell. A few slaps to his cheek later, and the cross-dresser reluctantly woke up. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from his brain, and frowned. Swallowing, he whispered, "What happened...?"

Bankotsu and Suikotsu slowly eased him up into a sitting position. The pediatrician pushed Jakotsu's head downwards.

"You fainted, Jak, and I want you to rest for a few more minutes. You don't have a headache, backache, chest pains, stomach ache, any feelings of weakness?"

"No..."

"You drank a lot last night, so you could be a little dehydrated... What did you have for breakfast?" Suikotsu asked while he checked the cross-dresser's pulse.

"Cup of tea... I didn't have time for breakfast."

Suikotsu heaved a long suffering sigh. "That explains a lot. He's going to be fine, Hibiya-san as soon as he eats something. No more alcohol today, either. And- thanks, Sessh." Suikotsu took the proffered glass of juice. "Drink up, Jak."

"You scared the crap out me, Sweetness," Bankotsu said softly.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to worry any of you..." Jakotsu drank the juice. 

"It's okay, Jackson. You couldn't help it," his mother said. "It was very stressful this morning and you're not well."

"I'm fine, Haha-ue... Really I am."

"Do you think you can stand?" Suikotsu asked.

"Yes..." Jakotsu replied and they helped him up. Much to his chagrin, everyone started clapping along with Sesshomaru, who had started it. "I'm fine, everyone, really I am." The cross-dresser took a few wobbly steps before Bankotsu picked him to bring him over to the table set up for them, adding to Jakotsu's already high stress levels. "Put me down, my lil dumpling, please...?"

"I don't want anything else happening to you, Sweetness."

"I know, but would really appreciate it as I feel stupid enough already. And I promise to sit there and eat, okay?"

"Too late, we're here already." Bankotsu set his life-partner down.

Jakotsu smiled. "You're evil, you know that?"

"Yup! That's why you love me..." Bankotsu leaned in and kissed him.

"You'd better believe it..."

888

"Nooooooo!" Jakotsu cried at the TV. "It's bad enough you're hounding me! Leave them alone!"

Bankotsu came running out of the hotel's bathroom, clutching the towel he had been drying himself off with. "Sweetness...?" he said softly.

"They're bothering my parents."

"Who's bothering your parents?" Bankotsu wrapped the towel around his waist.

"The press. They're bothering my parents about our commitment ceremony."

"I'm sorry..." Bankotsu sat down and put an arm around Jakotsu. "What did your parents say?"

"That I'm grown man and free to do what I want. And as a famous onnagata, my father didn't see any reason why I shouldn't look the part... But, I still wish they'd leave them alone. I got married on that damned soap opera and they all thought it was wonderful. Damn it! I basically do it in real life and everyone's having a shit-fit over it."

Bankotsu sighed. "It'll die down in a few days, you'll see," he soothed, making a mental note to call the hotel lobby and complain about their privacy being invaded. Jakotsu stiffened in his arms. "What's wrong, Sweetness?"

"Sui's on... Oh hell, why are they bothering him too?"

"Ssh... let's see what he has to say."

"_I'm very happy for them. Jak's a wonderful person and a dear friend. He's made a stellar career out of playing women's roles, so why not have fun with it? And Ban is one of the nicest guys I've ever met and he makes my friend happy, and that's what's important. Besides, it's not like they can legally get married anyway, so I fail to see what all the fuss is about. It was simply two people reaffirming their love and commitment to each other and if they wanted to give it all the pomp and circumstances surrounding a wedding, then why not? They're not hurting anyone."_

_The reported replied, "You don't feel they're making a mockery out of marriage?"_

"_No, I don't. Now if you'll excuse me I have patients to see and a clinic to run..."_

Bankotsu turned off the TV. "Sui's right; so stop fretting about it and go get ready for dinner."

"Okay..." Jakotsu smiled sadly and got up. 

"And, Sweetness, if anyone comes over to us and starts pestering us about it, I'm telling them you're pregnant and I married you to make an honest woman out of you," Bankotsu teased, although he sounded dead serious about it.

Jakotsu's smile brightened. "That'll really give them something to talk about as Emiko just found out she's pregnant."

Bankotsu grinned. "That's exactly why I would say it. Let them wonder if we're crazy or not. All I ask is that when Emiko's stomach gets really huge you get someone to take your picture like that for me."

Jakotsu frowned. "Okay..."

"Sweetness, I'm not looking for a family; you're more than enough family for me. It's just that I think you would look really beautiful like that... Not that you aren't already beautiful the way you are..." He got up and pulled the cross-dresser close. 

"You sure...?"

"Positive..." Bankotsu said. He kissed him.

888

"Ban honey, aren't Inu-chan and Sessh on tonight?" Jakotsu asked. He was in bed and snuggled up next to Bankotsu, and they were watching a bit of TV before going to sleep. 

"What's today?"

"It's been Saturday all day, Ban honey, and in an hour it'll be Sunday," Jakotsu said impishly.

"Oh... I guess I've been having so much fun with you, I forgot what day it was," Bankotsu said sheepishly.

"That's okay; I've been having fun too... I've only been keeping track of the days because I don't want it end."

"I know..." Bankotsu pulled him close. "So if it's Saturday, then we have a half hour to go and I know a good way to pass the time."

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu giggled. "What?"

"This..." Bankotsu said huskily. He kissed his life-partner while he gently eased the cross-dresser onto to his back. Letting his hands wander, Bankotsu wasted no time in letting Jakotsu know exactly what he meant.

888

"_Inuyasha-san, what is your opinion on your producer's recent marriage?"_

"_I didn't know he had broken up with Jakotsu-chan to get married."_

"_No, no, no," The host laughed. "I mean to Jakotsu-chan."_

_Inuyasha looked at him like he had three heads and laughed. "Guys don't get married to each other, so I have no opinion."_

"_Sesshomaru-san? Any thoughts?"_

"_I agree with my brother in that guys don't marry each other, but Jak is a special case. He's ummm," Sesshomaru lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "... pregnant and Ban wanted to make an honest woman out of him." He winked at the camera and laughed at the stunned expression on the host's face. Even Inuyasha joined in the laughter._

"_Uh...yeah..."_

Bankotsu also laughed. "Damn it! He beat me too it! Oh this is priceless, Sweetness. They'll have a field day with that lil rumor and they'll forget about hounding us about our commitment ceremony."

"Yeah...?"

"Yup!" He grinned. "I'm so glad our friends are putting up a united front to protect our privacy. And what's great about that is, you said your character on that soap is pregnant, so it'll draw ratings and maybe you can get a part on some nighttime drama."

"Yeah..."

888

Various reporters let out a barrage of questions the minute Jakotsu stepped off the train, Bankotsu in tow. Cameras flashed under the blinding glare of the lights needed to light up the area enough for the television reporters and the pair was half tempted to get back on the train and take a cab home from whatever stop they happened to get off of. 

"Jakotsu-chan!"

"Hibiya-san!"

"Jakotsu-chan, are you really married!"

"Hibiya-san! What's all this about you being pregnant?"

"Jakotsu-chan!"

"Hibiya-san, are you really a woman?"

"Hibiya-san!"

"Is Japan's greatest onnagata really a woman!"

"Jakotsu-chan! Are you taking Kusao-san's name!"

"When is the baby due?"

"Jakotsu-chan!"

"Hibiya-san!"

Jakotsu put a hand to his head and looked down, shielding his eyes from the glare. His head was pounding, and he was tired and wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Fighting the urge to scream, the cross-dresser felt the hand on his arm tighten.

"Hibiya-san will issue a statement when he's ready and so will I, now if you'll excuse us?" Bankotsu pushed his way through the crowd of reporters, pointedly ignoring their questions as he pulled his life partner along. He sighed when they were alone. "I'm sorry, Sweetness."

"Don't be, it's not your fault. Oh crap!" he swore when more cameras flashed at them.

They looked around wildly, looking for a crowd to disappear into when Jakotsu spotted some members of his fan club. "Yes!"

"What?"

"Ban honey, salvation has arrived and its name is Inoue-san!" He waved at a group of older women. 

"Hibiya-san!"

Jakotsu sauntered over to them. "Inoue-san, it's so good to see you! Ban, this is the president of my fan club, Inoue-san."

"Inoue-san," Bankotsu said.

"Kusao-san, it's a pleasure to meet you," she replied. 

"Same here."

"Hibiya-san, we came here to offer our congratulations on your new... uh, partnership."

Jakotsu laughed. "Thank you, Inoue-san, and if you would be so kind as to help us out, I'll send you copies of my 'wedding pictures.'"

"Hibiya-san, we'd do it for nothing, but if you're offering...?" she said saucily.

Jakotsu chuckled. "You're accepting."

"Of course, right ladies?"

"Yes! Anything for Hibiya-san!"

"You ladies are the best."

Minutes later, with the combined efforts of his local fan club along with another one, who had just arrived, Jakotsu and Bankotsu were able to get peacefully into a cab along with their luggage and a promise to have lunch with both fan clubs as soon as it could be arranged.

"Even your fans are united in their efforts to help us."

"Yeah... It's nice to be finally loved."

"Hey! I always loved you, Sweetness!"

"I know, Ban honey, but now everyone else does too." 

Bankotsu shook his head at him and smiled.

888

Jakotsu was enjoying a nice lunch with his mother, Bankotsu, and Bankotsu's aunt. Things had become a bit quieter and he was able to relax without relying on the medication his friend Suikotsu had prescribed to settle his nerves. He was still a little jumpy as was evident by his reaction when Sesshomaru and his brother Inuyasha approached the table from directly behind the cross-dresser.

"Hey, guys, ladies," Sesshomaru said. "What's doing?"

"Nothing," Bankotsu said. "We're having lunch. What brings you two here?"

"We're escaping the wives," Sesshomaru said. 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Actually, I'm babysitting. Rin said if he didn't leave her alone, she was going to kill him." He grinned. "So I was told to take him somewhere far away and see to it he stays out of trouble. Do you mind if we join you for a cup of coffee?"

"Not at all," Bankotsu's aunt said as the brothers grabbed a couple of chairs from a nearby table and sat down. "Ban, see if you can get the waiter to come here and bring them some coffee and dessert."

Bankotsu shot the Nishi brothers an "I'm not amused by your antics" look and signaled the waiter, who came over to their table. "We have two unexpected guests." He turned to brothers and asked, "Coffee okay?"

"Yeah, I'll have a cup and slice of that chocolate cake like Jak."

"It's good, Inu-chan, you'll like it," Jakotsu said. He took another bite and swallowed. "Excuse me, can I have another slice?"

"Coffee will be fine for me," Sesshomaru said and with that the waiter left to fulfill their order. Minutes later, he was back.

They made small talk while they lingered over dessert. Things went well until Jakotsu spotted a reporter heading their way.

"Damn it," he swore softly. He could feel his stomach clenching, and his heart racing, as another panic attack threatened to overwhelm him. They had been home for two weeks and despite the occasional lull, there was no sign of things letting up.

"Hibiya-san, if I might have a word with you?" the reporter said, a small tape recorder in her hand pointed his way.

The crosser looked up at her and was sorely tempted to tell her to get lost in no uncertain terms. Instead, he heaved a long suffering sigh and said tiredly, "I'm not married, I'm not pregnant; the character I play on TV is, and I'm not and never will be a woman. Does that answer your questions?" 

The reporter tittered nervously. "Uh... yes... but why are you so pale? Are you ill?"

"I'm pale because I'm tired and have the beginnings of an ulcer from all the stress."

Bankotsu quietly excused himself from the table and headed off to look for the restaurant's management. He had had enough of this nonsense too. 

"Oneesan?" Jakotsu's mother said. 

"Yes...?"

"Please stop harassing my son."

"I'm not harassing him."

"I know you think you're doing your job, but you are harassing him by interrupting our lunch."

"Haha-ue, it's okay."

"It's not okay, Jackson. You're getting sick over this."

"Hibiya-san is right, Jakotsu-san," Bankotsu's aunt said. She turned to the reporter and said, "Go now and call his people, like they say in America, and they'll set up a date for an interview."

"Or you could always talk to us," Sesshomaru added helpfully. "We've got another album coming out in what?" he turned to his brother.

"Two weeks," Inuyasha said. "We'll give you an exclusive if you want."

"But I'm here to speak with Hibiya-san..."

"Well, you spoke to him," Inuyasha said, leaving the "now go" unsaid.

"But..." The reporter frowned.

"But nothing. Jak doesn't have anything to say at themoment except how good the chocolate cake here is, right, Jak?"

The cross-dresser nodded. 

"And he's having a lovely lunch with his dear mother and our producer's aunt, something we_ interrupted_ when we sat down," Sesshomaru pointed out.

"You forgot Ban, Sessh," Inuyasha added helpfully.

"Yes... How can I forget our wonderful producer? Speaking of which, I believe he's coming back with yet another guest. Jak, keep this up and we're going to have to rent out the party space." The blond guitarist winked at the cross-dresser.

Jakotsu smiled.

"I suggest you go, Oneesan, as that man with him looks like the nice manager who greeted us when we came in," Jakotsu's mother said sweetly.

"And he doesn't look very happy either and neither does my nephew," Bankotsu's aunt added.

The reporter briefly hesitated, before leaving. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Is everything okay, Hibiya-san?" the restaurant's manger asked. 

"Yes, thank you."

"I'm sorry about the intrusion."

"Please, don't worry about it; it's not your fault, Ito-san. She was probably here enjoying her lunch when she saw me. Unfortunately I get recognized a lot, so think no more about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Jakotsu smiled. "Ito-san, I was wondering if I could get this wrapped up to take home." He indicated the second slice of cake sitting in front of him. "I really love your cake, but I'm full from my lunch and a first piece of cake and I was wondering if I could get it wrapped up, so I can take it home..." he rambled on.

"Say no more, Hibiya-san." The manager took the cake and headed off towards the kitchen.

Jakotsu briefly watched him go, before turning his attention back to his family and friends. "Thank you. I appreciate the effort and I'm happy it paid off."

"That's what family and friends are supposed to do, Jackson."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, unfortunately it doesn't always work for the good, but when it does; it's wonderful having everyone united and standing behind your decisions, no?" his mother said.

"Yup!"

Jakotsu's mother smiled at him, and laying her hand on his, she gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You're family now and I'm pleased to say, I like my nephew's choice in... eh..." Bankotsu's aunt trailed off helplessly.

Jakotsu's smile broadened. "Don't feel bad, Oba-chan, there are mornings when I wake up, look in the mirror and wonder what I am too," he deadpanned and she laughed. He was about to say something else when the waiter returned with a huge box. 

"Ito-san said this is for you, Hibiya-san, as an apology for the earlier disturbance."

"He didn't have to..."

"What is it, Jak?"

"A whole chocolate cake," Jakotsu said happily when he looked inside the box. "Tell Ito-san I said 'thank you.'"

"I will, and Kusao-san, Ito-san said the bill has been taken care of."

"It has?"

"Yes..."

"Tell Ito-san that I also said 'thank you.'"

"I will."

888

Jakotsu lay in bed with Bankotsu, watching TV, and eating a slice of chocolate cake. He would occasionally stuff bits of it in his life-partner's mouth. 

"Why the sudden interest in Kenshin?" Bankotsu asked quickly, before the cross-dresser could shove another bite of cake in his mouth.

Jakotsu shrugged and ate the bite instead. "I dunno... I just like it."

Bankotsu quirked an eyebrow at him, and directing the cross-dresser's fork towards his own mouth, he ate the cake.

"Hey!" Jakotsu playfully took another bite and ate it himself. Swallowing, he said, "I like how they all got together and helped Megumi with her troubles, like everyone did for me today."

"Oh... But that's because we love you."

"You think?" Jakotsu said softly.

"I know... Now, put that cake down and shut up and kiss me."

"Okay..." Jakotsu said. He quickly ate the last bite, and smiling impishly at Bankotsu, he set the plate down on his nightstand. Licking his lips, the cross-dresser leaned in and kissed his life-partner long and hard. Breaking the kiss, he said huskily, "How about you and me do a little uniting of our own?"

"With pleasure..."

888

_**Author's end note; Next up is "V" is for Voracious.**_


	22. V is for Voracious

Voracious

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's_ _based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section over at .) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

"_Take me now baby here as I am... _

_  
Pull me close, try and understand... _

_  
Desire is hunger is the fire I breathe... _

_  
Love is a banquet on which we feed... _

_  
Come on now try and understand... _

_  
The way I feel when I'm in your hands..." from "Because the night" by Bruce Springsteen & Patti Smith as sung by Patti Smith._

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does! **_

888

"**V" is for Voracious**

Renkotsu slid the shoji, to the room he shared with Suikotsu, back with a resounding thwack. He stormed angrily into the room. "Stupid rabbits!!" he swore. "Don't they have anything better do to with their time?!"

"Jakotsu is certainly voracious when it comes to Oo-Aniki but that's because they're boys, Ren," Suikotsu, looking up from the medicinal herbs he was sorting, said calmly.

"Yeah? Well, I'm tired of walking in on it!" Renkotsu said peevishly. He came over to his lover and sat down on the floor across from him.

"I know, but did it ever occur to you that that's a game he's playing with you?"

"A game?! How is acting like a rabbit in the most inappropriate of places a game?" Renkotsu sputtered.

"Well, look at how angry you are," Suikotsu said in the same calm tones he used before. "You don't see me getting angry when he does that to me."

"Yeah, but he doesn't do that you every chance he gets."

"That's because it's not as much fun to tease me as it is to tease you. I don't get upset, Ren, and you should try very hard not to either."

"I know, but it's hard." Renkotsu sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, letting his right hand slide across his jaw line to the back of his neck, while the other settled in his lap. He massaged his neck, easing the tension that was there.

Suikotsu nodded. "What you're forgetting is that he grew up in a bathhouse where sex was as common as taking a bath. And he had been working there for most of his life as well."

"Yeah..." Renkotsu trailed off as he thought it over. "Wait, you're telling me he's just whoring it up with Ban?"

"No, not exactly. Jak genuinely likes, or perhaps even loves, Oo-Aniki very much." Suikotsu smiled. "Don't you remember what it was like to be seventeen?" the claw-bearer said, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"At seventeen, Sui, I was working my ass off at the smithy."

"And I was busy learning how to be a doctor from my father." Suikotsu grinned. "Think of it this way, Ren, at seventeen, Jak is busy learning how to be a child again.A very naughty one, but a child none-the-less," Suikotsu deadpanned.

Renkotsu laughed. "Then Ban must be busy learning how to be a man."

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Suikotsu quipped.

888

Jakotsu sighed contentedly. He was lying on the floor in Bankotsu's study, holding his lover in an awkward embrace. Bankotsu's breath alternately warmed and cooled the bare skin on the cross-dresser's chest as his lover inhaled and exhaled, sending little shivers up and down his spine. He was happy and deliriously so, which was why he was willing to put up with the soreness and playing the submissive with Bankotsu. Even when Bankotsu would offer to let him be the dominate one, Jakotsu found he would rather keep things the way they were. There was just something about having Bankotsu inside him that made the cross-dresser eagerly accept it. He sighed again.

"You alright, Sweetness?"

"Yeah..." Jakotsu smiled. "I was just thinking about what a tasty lil dumpling you are," he said impishly.

Bankotsu laughed. "Yeah?"

"Uh-hunh." Jakotsu gently cupped his lover's cheek.

Bankotsu reached up and, taking Jakotsu's hand, he moved it so that he could kiss his palm.

Jakotsu's breath caught in throat. Bankotsu had let go of the cross-dresser's hand, letting his own hand wander down the length of Jakotsu's body. The soft touch of Bankotsu's hand with his rough calloused fingers and palm never failed to arouse him. To the cross-dresser Bankotsu was a hunger that was never satisfied, and one that he never tired of appeasing.

"Feel like having some more fun?" Bankotsu said huskily.

"Oh yeah..." was Jakotsu's breathless reply. The cross-dresser closed his eyes, his breath quickening while his lover shifted his weight to blanket him.

Bankotsu playfully tweaked Jakotsu's left nipple. When the cross-dresser moaned softly, he suckled on the right, before moving his way downwards. Bankotsu trailed a line of kisses down Jakotsu's torso, chuckling inwardly when the cross-dresser tensed with each feather soft kiss. He made his way to his paramour's navel and, stealing a quick look at his lover, Bankotsu licked it.

Jakotsu giggled and tried to push him away.

Bankotsu looked up and laughed. "You like?"

"Yeah..." Jakotsu giggled again. It felt good and strange at the same time because Bankotsu's subtle movements rubbed against Jakotsu's erection in a tantalizing way. If he was not hungry before Bankotsu hadstarted, Jakotsu felt he was starving now. Especially now that Bankotsu was busy sucking him off while his fingers poked their way inside him. Jakotsu tensed, remembering what had happened earlier when Renkotsu had chosen that moment to enter the study, thinking no one was inside. He had been looking for a sketchbook that had been left behind during an earlier meeting and had unfortunately walked in while they busy engaging in a similar activity...

"_Oh hell!" the fire-breather swore when he noticed his leader and his paramour were engaged in an intimate activity._

Oh hell yourself! Can't you go away and leave us alone?_ Jakotsu thought, his frown of annoyance easily mistaken for one of pleasure. He groaned disappointedly when Bankotsu paused in his ministrations. _

"_What the hell do you want, Ren?" Bankotsu asked, his annoyance at being disturbed clearly heard._

"_Uh..." Renkotsu said in a strangled voice. He hated walking in on them like that and in his embarrassment, he was at a loss for words. _

"_Maybe he wants to join us...?" Jakotsu said sweetly, trying to recapture the moment._

"_NO!!" his lover and the fire-breather chorused._

_The cross-dresser giggled. He knew Renkotsu would never have agreed to it anyway, even if Bankotsu had been willing to have a three-some. He looked over at the fire-breather and sighed. "Perhaps another time...?" he said impishly._

_That was enough to spur Renkotsu into action. Forgetting his sketchbook, the fire-breather turned and hurried out of there, sliding the shoji shut with a resounding thwack._

"_Now where were we before we so rudely interrupted?" Bankotsu playfully asked._

"_You were umm..." Jakotsu trailed off impishly._

"_Oh yeah..." Bankotsu replied in the same tone of voice Jakotsu had used earlier when uttering the same phrase. _

_Jakotsu laughed, morphing it into a cry of pleasure when Bankotsu resumed his former ministrations..._

Bankotsu's head bobbed up and down, his mouth poised to imitate a woman's opening, not that Jakotsu cared. It was no secret that the cross-dresser preferred men. Despite what little Jakotsu had told him about his childhood, Bankotsu was positive he had never actually been with a woman.

It was not long before the cross-dresser climaxed, the little waves of pleasure washing over him. It was a like having an appetizer before sitting down to a banquet in Jakotsu's humble opinion.

Bankotsu swallowed and slowly slid his way up Jakotsu's body. When he was close enough, the cross-dresser took his head in his hands, gently easing him forward, until he captured Bankotsu's lips with his own. Jakotsu kissed Bankotsu, parting his lips, the cross-dresser's tongue trying to worm its way between his lover's teeth.

Bankotsu resisted at first, playfully teasing his paramour. Opening his mouth when Jakotsu had least expected it, Bankotsu let him deepened the kiss. They lay there, kissing each other long and hard. When the young leader of the Shichinintai judged the time was right, he pulled away from his paramour.

"You want me to get on my hands and knees?" Jakotsu said softly as he tried to pull his lover back down on top of him.

"Nah... I want to face you."

"Yeah?" Jakotsu said, looking so happy about it, that Bankotsu was determined to give him his best.

"Yeah..."

Minutes later, Bankotsu had entered him, whetting Jakotsu's voracious appetite where he was concerned. In and out and in and out, he developed his rhythm in time to the cross-dresser's ragged breathing.

Jakotsu had arched upwards, his contented smile at odds with the frown that creased his forehead. The more Bankotsu thrust inside him, the more it fed his hunger for him. He wrapped his arms around his lover, pulling Bankotsu close. This time things were a bit quicker for them both, leaving them both surfeited.

888

Later that evening, Suikotsu found him sitting gingerly on the floor of the bathhouse in a puddle of cool water. Jakotsu, thinking he was alone, had his eyes closed while he lazily dragged the rough cotton square up and down the length of his out stretched arm. It was clear from the dreamy look on his face, what he was thinking about, and the claw-bearer was glad to find him alone.

"Are you alright, Jak?" he said softly.

Jakotsu looked up at him, the claw-bearer's soft tones pulling him from his reverie. "Yeah..."

"You sure?" Suikotsu asked and the cross-dresser nodded in reply. "Then why are you sitting on the floor?" He pulled over a small stool and went to get a bucket of water, before sitting down. Dipping his cotton square in the bucket, Suikotsu wrung it out and began to wash himself.

"Well... I ummm..." Jakotsu, frowning, looked away.

"Too much Oo-Aniki, hunh?" Suikotsu chuckled.

Jakotsu laughed. "Yeah."

Growing more serious, Suikotsu said, "If things don't feel right by morning, I'll make you a balm."

"Thanks, Sui." Jakotsu picked up the bucket of water sitting to his left and dumped it over himself. He gingerly rose to his feet. "I'm going to go soak for a bit."

"Jak, I know Oo-Aniki is going away for a few days, which is good as it'll give you a chance to heal, but seriously, you should temper your appetite when it comes to him. You're going to wind up hurting yourself if you don't."

"I know... but I can't help it, Sui. Aniki-chan makes me feel very ummm... I don't know, loved...?" The cross-dresser frowned. "When I'm with him, I don't want him to stop or go away or tell me 'not now.'" Jakotsu wrapped his arms around himself as if hugging himself.

"I know... I've felt that way with my Sedako-chan." Suikotsu briefly had a far away look in his eyes. "And I feel that way about Ren too." He smiled.

"Yeah?"

Suikotsu nodded. "You look cold, why don't you go soak. I'll be there soon."

"Alright..." Jakotsu turned and carefully walked away.

Suikotsu picked up the bucket and poured the water over himself. _Hmmm... you must be very much in love with Oo-Aniki that you're willing to hurt yourself for him, and yet it appears that you've also had enough fun for one day if you're here by yourself._

888

Jakotsu held on to Bankotsu as if he never wanted to let him go. Resting his chin on the top of his lover's head, he whispered softly, "Please stay..."

"I can't, Sweetness, and you know that," Bankotsu murmured into his chest. "I wish I could take you with me, but I need you to stay behind and watch over the place for me."

"Can't Ren do that? He likes being here with Sui, and Sui likes having him here too."

"I know, but I'm sorry, Sweetness, I can't." Bankotsu gave his paramour one last squeeze, before reluctantly pulling away. "Besides, I promise to make it up to you when I get back."

"Yeah? Then I promise to work up a really big appetite for my lil dumpling," Jakotsu said saucily.

"Good, cuz I look forward to feeding you." Bankotsu took the cross-dresser's hand and kissed his fingers.

Jakotsu giggled, and noticing Renkotsu approaching, he asked, "What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just came to get Oo-Aniki. It's time for us to go."

"Oh..."

"I'll be back soon, Sweetness. Just don't forget what I promised you."

Jakotsu smiled impishly, "How could I forget a whole day of nookying with you as soon as you get back?"

Bankotsu stole a quick glance at the fire-breather, and grinning wickedly, he replied. "Well, I for one will be dreaming of it every night until I get back."

Jakotsu's expression softened. "Yeah? I'll be doing the same." He sighed happily like a lovesick girl.

Renkotsu looked at them like he wanted to be sick. "You're planning a nookying session? I thought you two just... ummm, you know, nookied whenever the mood hit and judging by the amount of nookying that's gone on lately, there's been a lot of mood..." He pinched the top of his nose between his eyes as a headache threatened to make his head explode.

"Hunh? I just like nookying Aniki-chan, cuz he's so tasty and I can't get enough of him." Jakotsu giggled and pulled Bankotsu close again, kissing him one last time, before letting him go.

"Yeah...?" Bankotsu and Renkotsu chorused.

"Yeah." Jakotsu smiled. "It's like... I don't know, it's...ummm, like enjoying sweets and not being able to get enough of them. I just have a big appetite for Aniki-chan. Now you'd better go so you can come back that much quicker, unless Ren can go by himself...?"

Bankotsu sighed. "Unfortunately he can't."

"Oh well..." Jakotsu said sadly.

Bankotsu stood there, unwilling to leave. He hated seeing his paramour upset and when Jakotsu looked at him shyly, he was half tempted to drag him back inside for another round of nookying.

Renkotsu coughed, breaking the moment between the lovers. "Oo-Aniki, we'd better go before it gets dark."

"Dark? It's morning, Ren," Bankotsu said, giving his second-in-command a look like he had three heads.

"Aniki-chan's right, Ren, it's morning and the sun's shining," Jakotsu added.

"True, but you both were making ox-eyes at each other and whenever you do that-"

"We nookie!" Jakotsu said. He and Bankotsu exchanged glances and laughed.

"Yeah," Renkotsu said dryly.

"Oh well, we'd better go, Sweetness," Bankotsu said. Turning to Renkotsu, he added, "Remind me next time, to have that daimyo come here." He looked over at his paramour and winked.

"Will do, although I have the feeling Jak won't let you forget."

"You're damned right I won't!" Jakotsu laughed. "Bye, Aniki-chan, Ren!"

"Bye..."

888

Jakotsu was lying on his back in their futon, with Bankotsu snuggled up alongside him. The cross-dresser played with the end of his lover's braid.

"Ummm... Aniki-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Tonight at dinner, Ren said I had vaporous appetite for you. What's he mean by that? Isn't vaporous the poison stuff Mu makes?"

"Yeah, Mu's poisons are usually vaporous, but I don't think that's what he said." He looked up at his paramour. "Sui spoke to me earlier about you." Bankotsu frowned. "How come you didn't tell me I was hurting you?"

Jakotsu shrugged. "It wasn't bad, so I didn't mind. But how come you didn't answer my question?" he said impishly.

"Sweetness..." Bankotsu sighed. "Ren meant 'voracious,' meaning 'insatiable' and 'never satisfied,' which is what led to you getting hurt." He reached up and cupped the cross-dresser's cheek. "And I don't want to hurt you."

"I know you don't. But-"

"But nothing." Bankotsu placed a finger on Jakotsu's lips, silencing his reply. "Besides, if you get hurt from too much nookying, then we'll have to stop and I don't think you'd want to. I know I wouldn't."

Jakotsu nodded.

"So you're going have to stop being so voracious." Bankotsu grinned.

"Alright..." Jakotsu said sadly.

"Sweetness, I didn't say stop completely, just not as much as before. Besides, I don't want you growing tired of me."

Jakotsu giggled. "I never get tired of you."

Bankotsu laughed. "Tell me about it."

"I thought I just did."

"True..."

Jakotsu kissed him. "I guess we should go to sleep, then, hunh?"

"Sounds like a plan to me..."

The cross-dresser laughed. "Good night, Aniki-chan. Sleep well."

"You too, Sweetness."

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "W" is for Wobbly.**_


	23. W is for Wobbly

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI: Geta are wooden sandals._

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

"**W" is for Wobbly**

888

"Jak, watch out!" Suikotsu called out just as the cross-dresser turned around. They had been walking single file through a small thicket and, as Jakotsu had been listening intently to the story the claw-bearer was telling, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings.

_WHACK!_The tree branch, that Bankotsu had pushed out of the way with the end of the Banryuu, came flying back to its original position, hitting the cross-dresser in the head. 

"OWWWIIEE!" Jakotsu grabbed his head and spun around, taking a few wobbly steps towards the claw-bearer and back. He let out a torrent of curse when he walked into the tree branch again.

"Sweetness!" Bankotsu ducked under the branch and hurried over to him. "What happened?"

Jakotsu staggered around in a small circle. Finally facing Bankotsu, the cross-dresser headed towards him, wobbling from side to side. "Fucking stupid tree whacked me in the head! Damn it! It hurts like hell!"

"Let me see, Jak," Suikotsu said while he removed his claws and handed them to Renkotsu.

"No!"

"Sweetness, listen to Sui," Bankotsu soothed. He had managed to pry the cross-dresser's hands away from his head long enough to push his bangs away and see the beginnings of lump forming. "You've got a nasty looking bump there..."

"Yeah...?" Jakotsu giggled. 

Bankotsu nodded. "Turn around, slowly."

Jakotsu giggled as his lover helped him to turn around. "Hey, Sui."

"Jak." Suikotsu nodded. He carefully brushed the cross-dresser's bangs out of the way and gently probed the lump on his forehead.

"Hey! That hurts, Sui!"

"Stop whining, Jak," Renkotsu said. "If you had been paying attention, you would have seen the branch." 

"But Sui was telling such a funny story, Ren. Ow! Stop it, Sui!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to do it, Jak. I just want to make sure this isn't serious." Suikotsu tilted the cross-dresser's head. "Does your head hurt when I do this?"

"A little bit..."

"And that...?" Suikotsu murmured. He tilted Jakotsu's head the other way. "Look down for me... and up..." He trailed off softly as he continued his impromptu examination. "Aside from the headache, how do you feel?"

"A lil tired, Sui..." Jakotsu's gaze shifted to the side. "Aniki-chan, can we stop for a while? I want to lie down..." he trailed off softly, and wobbled away from them, before collapsing.

"Jak!" Suikotsu cried, hurrying towards him.

"Sweetness! What's wrong with him, Sui?"

"He must have hit his head harder than I thought. Let's get out of here so I can get a better look at him." Suikotsu knelt and scooped the cross-dresser up in both arms.

"Right!" Bankotsu turned and walked over to the offending tree branch. Wedging himself in the tangled underbrush alongside the deer path they were traveling on, he pulled the branch out the way. "Let's go!"

They moved quickly past him and it was not long before they came to a clearing. Setting Jakotsu down in the grass, Suikotsu gently slapped his face, trying to rouse him.

"Is he going to be okay, Sui?" Bankotsu said softly.

The claw-bearer looked up at him. "I think so. He's got a pretty hard head, Oo-Aniki. Remember that inn we stayed in last week?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember that guy that was mad Jak wasn't a girl and started that fight?"

"I do." Renkotsu laughed. "I overheard him telling his friends about it. He apparently saw Jak taking a piss out back and they talked him into beating the shit out of Jak for making a fool out of the idiot."

"Oh yeah! I had so much fun returning the favor." Bankotsu grinned and cracked his knuckles.

Suikotsu nodded. "He had hit Jak in the head with a sake jug. I think maybe he's not fully recovered from that and that's why he passed out." He smacked the cross-dresser's cheek again. "Come on, Jak, wake up!"

"Hunh...?" Jakotsu said sleepily. 

"Yeah. You hit your head, Sweetness, and passed out," Bankotsu said.

"I did...?" the cross-dresser said as they helped him sit up. "Oh..." He winced.

"What?" Suikotsu said. 

Jakotsu closed his eyes. "Everything's spinning...I want to lie down again."

"I think it's better if we keep moving," Suikotsu said.

"I want to lie down... I think had too much sake, Sui."

"No. You're going to stand up and keep moving along with the rest of us."

"I don't want to, Sui," Jakotsu whined. 

"Come on, Sweetness, we have to go."

"Yeah, Oo-Aniki and Sui are right; we can't stay here, Jak," Renkotsu added.

"Come on," Suikotsu said, pulling the cross-dresser to his feet. 

Jakotsu groaned petulantly and when it looked like even Bankotsu was willing to leave him behind, he took a few wobbly steps after them. He kept up his annoyed tirade most of the way to the next village, stopping only when Suikotsu offered to carry him. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he eagerly accepted, although the claw-bearer was not happy at how quickly Jakotsu fell asleep.

888

"Wake up, Jak, we're here," Suikotsu said when they approached an inn. He jiggled the cross-dresser, whom he had been carrying on his back, trying to wake him up so that he could set him down.

"Hunh...?"

"We're here, Jak, so wake up. You're scaring Oo-Aniki with all the sleeping," Suikotsu said softly. _And me too... If you're hurt worse than I thought, I may not be able to help you._

"I'm awake, Sui... Sui?"

Suikotsu chuckled. He was very relieved to hear the cross-dresser was sounding more like himself. "Yeah?"

Jakotsu took a few wobbly steps. "Ooh... That must have been some sake, eh? My legs feel like they belong to someone else." He giggled.

"You weren't drinking, Jak."

"No? Then why do I feel like I was?" He paused and slowly turned to face the claw-bearer.

Suikotsu frowned. "Don't you remember getting hit in the head?"

"No." The cross-dresser blinked.

"That's why you feel like you're drunk and why you passed out."

"I passed out?" Jakotsu frowned and rubbed his temples. "That explains the headache, but why can't I walk straight?"

Suikotsu sighed. "I think it has something to do with your injury. The head's a funny thing, Jak. You can get a nasty bump with no more ill effects that a mild headache or you can get hit in such a way that you die in an instant. I wish I knew more."

"I'm not going to die, am I?"

"I don't think so," the claw-bearer soothed.

"Oh good," Jakotsu said, relief clearly heard in his voice.

"Yeah. I think getting hit in the head again so soon after that fight must have addled something. That's why you're wobbling like Oo-Aniki did when he had that earache."

Jakotsu sighed. "Poor Aniki-chan! He was so miserable and nothing I did helped."

"I know and I'm very proud of how well you did in keeping his fever down. Fortunately it cleared up soon after that and he seems fine now. So I have reason to believe you will be too."

The cross-dresser smiled. "Yeah? Then it's alright if I go lie down again? I feel so tired, Sui."

"Okay. As soon as Oo-Aniki and Ren come back to tell us where our room is, you can sleep until dinner."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome and here they come."

"Good..."

888

They spent several days at the inn, giving Jakotsu a chance to recover before moving on. As they neared home, they stopped to pick up some supplies in a large village on the way.

Passing the various stalls in the marketplace, Jakotsu spotted a geta-maker whose sandals caught his eye. He picked up a pair and looked at them.

"Ah... those are very special sandals," the geta-maker said.

"Yeah?" Jakotsu asked his curiosity piqued.

"Yes. When you wear a pair of those, they'll make the lady sway in a most alluring manner."

"Really?"

The geta-maker nodded. "Try them on."

"I would but they're not big enough."

"Aah... Well, the lady is rather tall, so let me see your feet."

Jakotsu giggled "Okay." He stuck his left foot out and the geta-maker sighed as his gaze traveled up the length of the cross-dresser's bare leg. 

"I think I have something I can adapt to fit you."

"Oh good!"

A half an hour later, Jakotsu was happily swaying, and wobbling, through the marketplace in search of his friends. In order to keep his balance, the cross-dresser found he had to take small mincing steps, further increasing the illusion he was a woman much to his delight. He reveled in the appreciative glances thrown his way by the men he had walked past.

"Oh Sweet Kami-sama! Now what're you wobbling for?" Renkotsu swore when the cross-dresser tottered over to them.

"No reason," Jakotsu said sweetly. He giggled and headed over to his lover. 

"Turn around and go way and come back." Bankotsu motioned with his hand and Jakotsu happily complied. "Damn, you look good..." The young leader of the Shichinintai grinned appreciatively. 

"Thank you." Jakotsu, smiling sweetly, tottered back over to him. 

"You're welcome."

"Jak, are you sure you didn't hurt your foot?" Suikotsu asked, looking down at the younger man's feet.

"Nope. I just got a new pair of sandals. The man who made them said I would sway in a luring manner," he said smugly. 

"You certainly are," Bankotsu said.

"Yeah, I hope you kept your old sandals as I don't think these new ones are that good for long distance traveling."

"I did," Jakotsu said as he removed them from inside his kimono.

"Good. Then put them on so we can go," Renkotsu said impatiently, earning an annoyed look from the cross-dresser and his lover. Sighing softly, the fire-breather added, "This way you won't hurt yourself again and we can make it home by nightfall. Then you can parade around all you want in them at home, which I'm sure Oo-Aniki'll enjoy."

Suikotsu nodded. "Ren has a point."

"Maybe you should listen to them, Sweetness," Bankotsu said. "If you wear them for me at home, they won't get ruined like they could on the way home."

Jakotsu sighed. "Okay... Ummm," he said as he turned to look at Renkotsu. Smiling sweetly, he added, "Ren, can you put them in your backpack and carry them for me, please?"

Before Renkotsu could say a word, Suikotsu said, "He'd be happy to carry them for you." Taking the sandals, he walked around behind Renkotsu and carefully laid them on top of the ammo he carried in his pack. "There. We're ready to go when you are, Oo-Aniki."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Bankotsu replied. "Let's go!"

888

"Now what is he wobbling around for?" Renkotsu hissed at Suikotsu. 

"I have no idea," the claw-bearer said calmly. "Jak, is something wrong?"

"No, I just have a blister. Aniki-chan said to ignore it until we get home."

"You sure you don't want me to look at it?"

"Ummm..."

"You can look at it when we get home, Sui," Bankotsu said, picking up the pace.

"Okay."

"Yeah, we'll be there soon," their leader added.

_Not soon enough,_ Jakotsu thought miserably as he wobbled off after them...

888

_**Author's end note: Next up is "X" is for X-ray.**_


	24. X is for Xray

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Special thanks to Vega-chan for helping me out with the "technical" stuff. She's an x-ray technician in training and I have been picking her brains for this one. Thanks you again, Vega-chan!**_** glomps you**

_FYI: Believe it or not the x-ray machine you stand next to for a chest X-ray is called a "wall bucky." _

"_Shichinin no Samurai" is a famous Akira Kurosawa film about seven samurai who help a village defend themselves against bandits. It was later remade into the western "The Magnificent Seven," as well as several other films and the anime "Samurai 7."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

888

"**X" is for X-ray**

Jakotsu lay there, propped up with pillows, on the sofa in their apartment. He was coughing so much his chest felt like it was on fire. "Stupid chest cold…" he said to himself as he waited for Bankotsu to come back with a cup of tea and some cough medicine.

"Here you go," Bankotsu said, setting the tray on the coffee table. Picking up the cough mixture and a spoon, he poured a dose into it and held it close to his lover's mouth. "Drink up," he said and the cross-dresser complied.

"Gagh! That stuff tastes like shit." Jakotsu started coughing again. 

Bankotsu handed him the cup of tea. 

The cross-dresser took it and somehow managed to sip enough to quiet his cough. "Thanks."

"You really should go see your friend Sui about your cough."

"It's just a chest cold, my lil dumpling," the cross-dresser said saucily. He was trying hard not to cough, and his lover was clearly not amused. 

"I'm serious, Jak. Chest colds don't make you sleep practically sitting up, make you hack up a lung, or leave you so weak you can barely drag yourself out of bed. All I can say is thank goodness you're on hiatus."

"Yeah." Jakotsu sighed. "Although, I have to admit, I do miss the work."

Bankotsu rolled his eyes. "Oh really? And who was it who was whining two weeks ago about having too much work to do? Hmmm?"

Jakotsu coughed. "Me," he said contritely.

Bankotsu shook his head and heaved a long suffering sigh. "I'm serious, Sweetness, I think you should go see your friend about this. You're coughing up way too much green shit for it to be a chest cold. Promise me you'll call him today."

"Okay…" the cross-dresser said airily.

"I mean it."

"I know. Now you'd better go before you're late for work."

Bankotsu sighed again. Leaning over, he kissed the top of his lover's head. "I'll see you later. And don't forget to call Sui and if you need me, call me on my cell phone instead of going through reception. You'll be able reach me that way as I'll be in a meeting this morning. I'll call you at lunch."

Jakotsu nodded. "Have fun!" He smiled impishly and waved good-bye to his lover. 

"Jakotsu," Bankotsu drawled. "I swear if you don't start behaving, I'll call your mother and have her come over and baby-sit."

The cross-dresser coughed. Gasping for breath, he wheezed, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me." 

"You win, I'll call Sui."

"Good." Bankotsu handed his lover his cell phone. He stood there, waiting patiently while he dialed.

"Hello? It's Sato-san…Yes… Is Hirata-sensei in? Thank you…" Jakotsu tried to discretely cough. "Sorry, Sui… Yeah… My chest is a bit sore. Yeah… Nothing; just a chest cold. What? Can I? Uh-hunh… Bye." The cross-dresser hung up. "He wants me to come in, in an hour."

"Okay… Want me to send the car around?"

"Please."

"Okay." Bankotsu gave him another kiss, this time on Jakotsu's forehead, before leaving. "Later, Sweetness."

"Bye…"

888

Jakotsu lay back against the seat in the back of the car, a box of tissues and a plastic bag sitting on the seat next to him. Closing his eyes, he gave the driver directions to the clinic his friend Suikotsu worked in. The ride went quickly, even though he slept fitfully thanks to the coughing fit he had had minutes after they pulled away from the curb. It seemed every time he drifted off, he had the urge to cough his brains out.

The car pulled into the clinic's parking lot, the driver parking in front of the door. Getting out, he walked over to Jakotsu and opened the car door for him.

"Thank you," the cross-dresser said, dragging himself out of the car. "Please wait here until I come out, thanks." He smiled weakly at the driver, before disappearing inside. 

888

"Sato-san?" The nurse said when she walked over to where Jakotsu sat in the clinic's waiting room, trying hard not to cough because the place was full of children. Some looked just as sick as he felt, while others played with each other on the waiting room floor.

"Hunh?"

"I'm sorry, Hirata-sensei can't see you right now as he's short-staffed. He did say to go next door and get a chest x-ray." She handed him a piece of paper. "Just hand that to the receptionist and she'll see to it you are taken care of promptly."

"Thanks…" Jakotsu glanced at the paper, stuffing it into his coat pocket when he stood up to leave. "Tell Hirata-sensei I'll call him later."

"I will."

888

Jakotsu handed the prescription to the receptionist and minutes later the x-ray technologist came out and led Jak to the x-ray room. "Sato-san, I just need you to remove everything from the waist up. I promise I'll get this done as quickly as I can for you."

"Okay…" Jakotsu said as the technologist shut the door. He shivered when he removed his coat and hung it up on the hook. He was dreading removing his sweater, but he figured the quicker he was about it, the quicker he would be on his way home. At least he was allowed to keep his own pants on.

The whole "ordeal" could not have lasted more than ten minutes for which he was grateful. First they had him stand facing the wall bucky and a lead apron was wrapped around his waist. Once they had the bucky set at the correct height, all Jakotsu had to do was stand there without moving, something he found difficult to do because the cool temperate of the room made him want to cough. He was asked to inhale as deeply as he could, then hold still while the technologist disappeared behind a wall and activated the x-ray. After a soft hum and a beep the RadTech called out for him to breathe normally. She came back and repositioned him, so that he was standing sideways next to the bucky. After doing the same breathing routine as before, he told he was free to put his sweater and coat back on and go. 

Never had a cashmere sweater felt so good in all his life as when Jakotsu slipped it back over his head and pulled it down. The technologist lead him back to the waiting room and explained that the images would be sent directly to the physician for viewing, and that the cross-dresser would probably receive a call about it later that day. Jakotsu nodded and thanked the technologist, before leaving the clinic.

888

"We'll kick it off with a few dates in Osaka, then head up to Nagoya, Yokohama, ending up at home in Tokyo. We're also going to play a few smaller venues along the way. Then it's a month off in mid-December to mid-January, before heading out on the European leg of the tour. That should take us right through to April. Too bad we're going to miss the cherry blossoms." Bankotsu grinned and looked down at his notes. "We'll have a couple of months off before the start of the American summer tour. If all goes well, I figure we can add a few South American and Canadian dates next year." The young music producer frowned when he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. Taking it out, he put it on the conference table. It danced across it for a few seconds, before stopping. Ignoring it, Bankotsu asked, "Any questions?" He looked around at the assembled band mates, who were also his friends. "No?" 

The phone vibrated again, sliding across the smooth polished surface of the conference table. 

"I have one," Sesshomaru said.

"What, Sessh?"

"Aren't you going to answer that?" the blond guitarist deadpanned.

"Uh, no…"

"What if it's important?"

"Important…?" Bankotsu said softly when it hit him and he lunged for the phone. "Hello!"

"_Kusao-san?"_

"Yes?"

"_This is Hirata-san, is Jak there with you?"_

"Sui? No, he's not. I'm at work. Is everything okay?"

"_I wish it were, Ban. I've been trying to get a hold of Jak as he needs to get to a hospital asap!"_

"What! I thought he had bronchitis, or as he likes to put it, 'a chest cold.'"

"_I wish it were just a simple chest cold, but he's got a full blown case of pneumonia. He has a pleural effusion, fluid in the lung, and that's why he needs to get to the hospital and quickly."_

Bankotsu swallowed hard at the serious, almost frantic tone to Suikotsu's voice.  
"Hang on a minute, Sui," he took the phone away from his ear. "Sessh, go down the hall and ask Tanaka-san if the driver's back yet and if he is, have him come here." He waved the guitarist away. "I sent someone to see if the driver's back yet and where they went."

"_Okay. Do you want me to come and get you?"_

"No, that's okay; I'm on my way out."

"_Fine."_Suikotsu hung up and Bankotsu followed suit. 

"Where the hell is he?" Bankotsu grumbled to himself.

"Everything okay, Ban?" Miroku asked the question that was on all their minds.

"Yeah… I just need to get home so I can strangle my life-partner." Bankotsu laughed humorlessly.

"I think we've got everything under control here," Inuyasha added. 

"All we need are those tour dates and we can end this," Kouga said.

"Right." Bankotsu picked up his notes. "Today's the twenty third; the tour kicks off on the thirty first."

"We're good to go!" Inuyasha said as everyone stood up to leave. 

Just then, Sesshomaru returned, Naraku in tow. "The driver said he's home, Ban."

"Thanks Sessh. Nice of you to join us, Naraku, but you missed all the fun and free donuts," Bankotsu said as he left the room.

"What was that all about?" Naraku asked.

"Nothing to get excited over, Narie-pooh," Sesshomaru smirked. "Jak just went AWOL, that's all."

"He what?"

"He went off on a shopping spree and Ban can't find him," Inuyasha said as he glared at his older brother.

"Oh, if that's all it is…" Naraku shrugged.

"Yeah, anyway tell Kikyou to start packing, we're leaving in a week."

"Sure thing," Naraku said while he reached for the last donut.

888

Bankotsu sat in the car silently fuming and, mentally cursing the traffic. He could not wait to get home as Suikotsu had him worried. Taking his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, he dialed home again._ Come on, Jak, pick up!_

When he still did not get an answer after dialing a few more times, Bankotsu felt an icy dread pierce his heart. Suikotsu's frantic call combined with Jakotsu's lack of a response was starting to give him waking nightmares. _Please be okay when I get there, Sweetness._

He was staring blankly out the window, trying to get his worried thoughts in order, when the phone rang. Filling it open, he placed it at his ear in one fluid motion. "Sweetness?"

"_No, it's me, Sessh. Everyone wants to know if you've found him yet?"_

"Well, I'm nearly home and he's not picking up the phone. I thought maybe you were him." Bankotsu sighed.

"_I figured as much as not even Rin calls me 'Sweetness.' Maybe he's asleep and that's why he's not picking up."_

"I don't think so, Sessh. Jak's a very light sleeper when it comes to the phone. Sometimes it barely has time to get a half a ring out before he's picked it up."

"_Oh. Maybe the bronchitis just has him wiped."_

"Maybe, but his friend Sui, who's a doctor, said that the bronchitis is really pneumonia."

"_Damn…"_

"Yeah, look, Sessh, I have to cut this short."

"_It's okay. Call me when you find him and let me know where he is. I want to go kick that boney lil ass of his for scaring the shit out of you like that."_

Bankotsu laughed in spite of his fears. "Will do, Sessh."

"_Bye."_

Bankotsu hung up his phone. He was about to call home one last time when he realized they were there. After thanking the driver, he got out of the car and hurried towards the apartment building. Once inside, he dashed over to the elevator, thanking his lucky stars when the door immediately opened upon pressing the button. That simple trip upstairs was the longest elevator ride in his life.

888

The minute Bankotsu stepped through his apartment door time seemed to speed up and slow down at the same time. So much so, that he had no memory later on of locking the door behind him and, hanging up his coat. Kicking off his shoes, he dashed up the entry way's steps and headed towards the living room, drawn by the sound of the TV. 

"Sweetness!" he called out when he spotted his lover, asleep on the sofa. 

Jakotsu had dragged the comforter off their bed along with his pillows. He lay back, wrapped in its soft downy confines, propping himself up with several pillows. He had the TV tuned into the movie channel, which happened to have on one of their favorite movies, _Shichinin no samurai._ The cross-dresser looked pale and drawn, his breathing shallow and raspy.

"Sweetness?" Bankotsu said softly. He gently shook his lover, trying to wake him up.

Jakotsu's eyes briefly flickered open.

"Come on, wake up," the younger man said, shaking his lover a little bit harder. "Sweetness…"

The phone rang, startling Bankotsu. He answered it. "Hello?"

"_Did you find him?"_

"Yeah…"

"_How is he?"_

"He won't wake up, Sui. He's pale and kind of bluish around his mouth and his breathing sounds funny."

"_Damn it! Did you call an ambulance?"_

"No…"

"_Okay. Ban, I'll have one sent over and I'll meet you at the hospital,"_Suikotsu said as he motioned for a nurse to call an ambulance. Bankotsu heard him tell her where to send it. "_Don't worry, he'll be fine." _

"I hope so, Sui."

"_The ambulance is on its way. Ban, you said Jak looks blue around his lips?"_

"Yeah."

"_Because of the pneumonia, Jak has some fluid built up in his lungs. That made the one collapse. He's pale and looks blue because he's not getting enough oxygen. I've gotta go now, so I can drive over there. He'll be fine, Ban, once he's admitted they'll put a tube in and drain the fluid. That'll make it easier for him to breathe."_ Bankotsu heard him disarm his car alarm and get in. _"The ambulance should be there any minute now. I'll see you in emergency. I've called ahead so he can be admitted under 'Sato' with no problems."_

No sooner had the pediatrician hung up, than the ambulance arrived. Several tense minutes later, they were on their way to the hospital.

888

"Why can't I see him, Sui?"

"They're working on him, Ban." At the recorder producer's questioning look, he added, "They're putting a chest tube in to help drain the fluid. He's going to be in ICU for a few days."

"I should have stayed home with him, Sui. Hell, I should have insisted he went to see you days ago," Bankotsu berated himself.

"Look, before you start beating yourself up over this, Jak's a big boy, Ban. And while he's never been one to look after himself, I think in this case he was afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Yeah, afraid of losing you."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Sui."

"I know. But you've got to look at it from Jak's point of view: no one's ever stayed with him for the long haul; and I don't count because we're friends. And judging by the look on your face, he never told you about the guy who kicked him out when he came down with the flu."

"You're kidding me."

"I wish I was, but that was the start of the AIDS epidemic…" Suikotsu trailed off knowingly.

"And that bastard was afraid," Bankotsu finished.

"In that respect, he takes very good care of himself especially after the walking disaster known as-"

"Naraku," they finished together.

"Look, I know Kikyou has her faults, Sui. And I know about your history together, but she's been the best thing for him and, as a result, the band. Without her to straighten him out, I think he'd had killed himself off a long time ago, if you know what I mean." Bankotsu chuckled. "He's so clean now he squeaks."

Suikotsu laughed. "That's because Kikyou is a force to be reckoned with. Hold on a second, Ban," Suikotsu said when a nurse approached them. "Ban, have you called his parents?"

"No, why? Is it that serious?"

"His condition hasn't changed, but I think they'd like to be here."

"And it'll give me something to do while you go check on him?"

Suikotsu smiled as he nodded, before walking away with the nurse.

888

"His parents are on their way, Sui."

"That's good. Come, I'll take you to see him."

"Thanks, Sui, but what about his parents?"

"I have someone I can trust who'll look out for them. Anyway, I have something I want to show you." They walked into an empty examination room. Suikotsu walked over to a light box, hanging on the wall, and switched it on. Sticking Jak's x-rays on it, he started to explain to his worried lover exactly what was wrong with the cross-dresser. 

888

"I'm sorry, Ban. I can only give you five minutes alone with him and that's a lot as you're not even family."

"I know. I'll make it quick. You'll let his parents have longer?"

"Yes, but only a few minutes longer. He needs his rest, Ban."

Bankotsu nodded and without another word, he slipped into Jakotsu's room. The room was quiet except for the soft hum of machinery and Jakotsu's raspy breathing. He walked as softly as he could over to the bed. "Sweetness…" he whispered.

Jakotsu's eyes briefly fluttered open. 

"You idiot!" Bankotsu said softly. "You scared the hell out of me."

The cross-dresser coughed and Bankotsu winced because it looked painful, judging by the way Jakotsu frowned.

"Ssh…" the younger man soothed. "Sui said your lung collapsed and that you'll be fine because they've got a tube in you to drain the fluid. You're feeling exhausted because you weren't getting enough oxygen. Anyway, when you feel up to it ask him to show you the x-rays. They're pretty cool looking. You can actually see the fluid clouding your lung. Ummm, I don't have much time; Sui's only giving me five minutes. So ummm, your parents are on their way; Sui said to call them. I hope they're not too upset and don't worry; I'll look after them for you. Just get better, okay, because I'm going to miss not having you around. And I'll be here and sneaking in whenever I can, okay," Bankotsu's words came out in a hurried rush. "And umm… I love you. And I'm sorry I can't kiss you, but there's an oxygen tent in the way and a fierce looking nurse just outside the door, so you'll have to settle for this." He kissed his finger tips and gently brushed them against the plastic separating them. "I'll be back later tonight, I promise."

888

Bankotsu, tired of pacing the ER's waiting room, walked over to an empty seat and sat down. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you, but was that man you were talking to a doctor?"

"Hunh?" Bankotsu looked over towards his left. Sitting next to him, was a bald man with his hand wrapped in a bloody towel.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I've been sitting here for twenty minutes and I'm either going to stop bleeding on my own or I'm going to bleed to death if I don't get my hand stitched up."

"Oh… I'm sorry; I wasn't paying attention. My friend was just admitted and those are his parents talking to the doctor." Bankotsu sighed.

The man nodded. "Is it serious?"

Bankotsu shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"By the way, I'm Sugita Renkotsu-san." 

"Oh." Bankotsu frowned. "Sorry, I'm Kusao Bankotsu-san." He grinned. "And yes, I'm the record producer."

"Yeah?" The man seemed surprised.

Bankotsu nodded. "Yeah, although, I would appreciate it if you kept that quiet."

"Of course."

"So ummm, what did you do to yourself that you're bleeding to death?" 

Renkotsu laughed. "I was test fitting a section on the frame of the bike I'm working on when it slipped and I cut my hand."

"Damn. Hey, my friend's friend is back. He's a doctor. I'll ask him to take a look at your hand while I sneak back up into ICU. That way we both win, eh?"

"Okay, but I don't want to get special treatment or anything, nor do I want to be the cause of you getting in trouble."

Bankotsu gave him a long appraising look and grinned. "Don't worry about it, Sugita-san."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, I need to talk to my friend's parents. I promised him I'd look after them."

"That's nice of you. And thank you, Kusao-san."

"It's nothing." Bankotsu got up and walked over to Suikotsu. "Sui, I've got another patient for you."

"Now what?"

"That guy sitting over there, I think he needs a couple of stitches and a tetanus shot." Bankotsu nodded towards where Renkotsu sat.

"You don't say, Sensei," Suikotsu said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. He looked over at Renkotsu and back. "If you hurry, you can sneak in before they chase Jak's parents out. I think you should take them out for a something to eat. They're really shook up about this."

"I imagine they would be."

Suikotsu shook his head at the younger man. "I'll make arrangements for all of you to come back later to see him for a few minutes."

"Thanks." Bankotsu hurried off.

Suikotsu walked over to man Bankotsu had pointed out. "I'm Hirata-san."

"I'm Sugita Renkotsu-san."

Suikotsu smiled. "I'm a doctor affiliated with this hospital. What seems to be the problem?"

"I cut my hand; I think I need stitches or something."

"Follow me, Sugita-san, we'll go to room two and I'll take a look at it for you."

"Thank you."

Suikotsu nodded. As they walked towards to the room, he asked a nurse for the necessary paperwork, before continuing on their way. 

888

"Jak, can you see it?" Suikotsu asked as held up an x-ray so the room's overhead light would make the image visible.

"Yeah…" the cross-dresser rasped in between coughs. 

"This was why Ban was so insistent you come see me." Suikotsu pointed to a cloudy area. "And why you wound up in here. This grey area is fluid." He traced the cloudy area with the end of his pen. "Your lungs should be clear like this one." He pointed to the other lung. "Now, this is the x-ray we took this morning. It's still cloudy, but the area's not as big and that's good."

"I'm… getting… better…?" Jakotsu said; each word punctuated by a cough.

"Believe it or not you are. Now when your lungs look like this," Suikotsu said, holding up an x-ray used for teaching purposes of a clear set of lungs. "We can move you out of ICU as long you don't have a fever or any other complications."

The cross-dresser nodded weakly.

"Why don't you get some rest? I'll be back later."

Jakotsu coughed in reply and closed his eyes. 

After fussing with Jakotsu's IV and making some adjustments to the oxygen rate going into the oxygen tent, Suikotsu slipped out of the room…

_**Author's end note: Next up is "Y" is for Yes!**_


	25. Y is for Yes!

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_FYI:__A __**noren**__ is the decorative half curtains that separate rooms in a traditional Japanese home. They are also hung outside restaurants to announce the specialty within._

_A__**horigotatsu**__ is a low covered table set over a hole in the floor in a traditional Japanese-style room._

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

"**Y" is for Yes!**

888

They walked up the path leading to Jakotsu's apartment. The cross-dresser reached out and took his date's hand in his. "Thank you so much for a wonderful evening, Bankotsu." He gently squeezed the shorter man's fingers.

"You're welcome."

"Would you like to come in? I can make us some tea or coffee if you'd like," Jakotsu said.

"Yes, I'd like that but you don't have to go to all that trouble, Jakotsu."

"It's no trouble at all." The cross-dresser smiled. Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he opened the door and they went inside. Jakotsu switched on the lights. "It's nothing much, but it's home." 

Bankotsu took off his shoes in the entryway and slipped on the pair of slippers Jakotsu handed him while he put on another pair. Two steps up and over they were in the main room of the apartment.

"Are those real tatami?" Bankotsu squatted and ran his hand over the flooring. He stood up.

"Yeah. I have two rooms and a bath, all done up traditionally. It's not bad for student housing." Jakotsu walked over to a large free standing closet and opened it, taking out a couple of floor cushions.

"Student housing?" Bankotsu frowned. "But I uh…" he trailed off helplessly.

"Yes. I know it's weird to still be living here, but it's home. I've been living here since I was around nineteen." He sighed. "It seems like only yesterday that I moved in." He handed the cushions to Bankotsu, before heading towards the kitchen. He pushed the noren, hanging in the doorways, aside and entered.

"Yeah?" Bankotsu, from where he sat on the floor, watched Jakotsu's lower half dance in and out of his line of vision while he puttered around the kitchen, making tea. 

"Yup. I moved in here when I couldn't afford the rent in my other apartment. And I've lived here off and on with my friend Sui or my boyfriends," Jakotsu said ruefully. "And I even moved back home once when Sui and Kikyou first got married. Luckily that didn't last long as I moved in with Naraku." Jakotsu said. "Although, that turned out to be a bit of a disaster."

"Do you need any help?" Bankotsu asked as he got up and walked over to him. He pushed his way through the two sets of noren into the kitchen. 

"Nope. Everything's under control. Would you like some cookies with your tea?"

"No thanks." Bankotsu leaned against the counter.

"So tell me something about yourself; I feel like I've been talking your ear off all night," Jakotsu said. He turned off the kettle and picked it up, pouring the hot water into a teapot. When the tea was ready he poured it into two cups and handed one to Bankotsu.

"What's to say? I started out briefly playing guitar professionally before I decided I'd rather produce an album than go through the hassle of performing on it and writing all the songs." They walked over to the horigotatsu and sat.

Jakotsu nodded for him to go on while they sipped their tea. 

"So I started out small, renting studio space and producing a few singles and albums for local bands. Ever hear of Onigiri?"

"Yeah? Don't tell me you're the genius behind 'Umeboshi'?"

"Yup!" Bankotsu grinned.

"I love that album!" Jakotsu sang a few lines from his favorite song.

"You have a very nice singing voice."

"Thank you, but I don't think I have what it takes to be a rock star." The cross-dresser waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm serious, Jakotsu."

"I know you are. Sessh said the same thing to me this afternoon at the shoot." The cross-dresser smiled. "Bankotsu, I'll happily sing karaoke for you and I'll even go so far as to sing a lil cabaret in some smoky club, but that's it." Jakotsu smiled and playfully wagged his finger at Bankotsu. "Hey! No fair, making me talk about me again."

Bankotsu laughed. "Sorry, I can't help it; I'm a good listener. Anyway, I found this single in an import bin and the rest you can say is history."

"Youkai!" they chorused.

"Yes! The infamous Youkai." Bankotsu grinned. 

"But if it weren't for them, we'd never have met." Jakotsu smiled at his date over his tea cup. He sipped his tea.

"Yeah…"

They lapsed into silence. 

Bankotsu looked at his watch. "I'm sorry, Jakotsu. I have to go. I have an early day tomorrow."

"Oh…" Jakotsu said disappointedly.

"Well, I was hoping we could do this again sometime. I really enjoyed your company."

"Yeah?" The cross-dresser smiled. "Me too."

"So I'll call you, okay?"

"Yes!"

888

When Jakotsu opened the door, Bankotsu stood there, speechless. 

"Come in," the cross-dresser said as he stepped aside to let his date in. "You okay, Ban?"

"Yes."

"You sure?" 

"Well, uh…" Bankotsu frowned, looking for his words. "You ummm, you look beautiful…" he trailed off softly.

Jakotsu smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome..."

"Shall we go?" the cross-dresser said.

"Ummm…"

"Ban honey, if this upsets you, I can go change," Jakotsu said as he tugged on his leather mini skirt.

"No, no, no. It's just that I've seen my fair share of beautiful women, Jak, but you've got them all out classed…"

"Yeah?" The cross-dresser blinked in surprise.

"Hell yeah." The shorter man smiled. 

"Oh good, I was hoping that since we've been dating for a while you wouldn't mind if I dressed up," Jakotsu said, sounding relieved.

Bankotsu nodded. "Shall we go?"

"Yes!"

888

They came back to Jakotsu's apartment after a night of clubbing. They had been dating for nearly a year, and taking things slow. The cross-dresser had decided that if Bankotsu wanted to stay the night, he was more than welcome to and if all he wanted was a bit of fun before hurrying home, that was okay too. 

Instead of their usual routine of sitting around drinking tea, they sat on the floor in the "living room" and kissed. Their kissing led to hands wandering, which made the cross-dresser wonder if he may have made a mistake with Bankotsu. The longer they kissed and the farther things went, the more a little voice in Jakotsu's head started to nag him about it. Something was not right; Bankotsu was treating him differently tonight. The more his lover's hands wandered, the more that annoying little voice in his head urged the cross-dresser to listen to it when it hit him. Bankotsu was treating him like a woman. When the younger man moved his hand to grab Jakotsu's breast prosthesis the cross-dresser's annoyance got the better of him.

Breaking the kiss and, pushing away from Bankotsu, the cross-dresser said peevishly, "Do you mind?"

"Hunh?"

"That's a fake boob you're mauling."

"Oh…" Bankotsu blushed. "I'm sorry. I guess I got caught up in the moment."

"I guess so," Jakotsu said sarcastically. 

"Look, I said I was sorry, Sweetness."

Jakotsu looked away. "Fine," he said softly as he really wanted to give his lover the benefit of the doubt. "It's just that they're expensive, and not only that, they're vital to my job." He sighed, and looking at his lover, he smiled. Unfortunately the nagging little voice in his head refused to leave him alone. Shrugging mentally, the cross-dresser quickly came up with a plan he hoped would quiet that little voice. Reaching down, he grabbed the bottom of his cashmere sweater and pulled it up and over his head. Jakotsu giggled at the wicked grin Bankotsu gave him, and removing his hair pin, he shook his hair loose from the coil so that it cascaded down his back. 

"Wait, let me do that," Bankotsu said when the cross-dresser reached around behind himself to remove his bra.

"Okay," Jakotsu said, leaning in to kiss him.

Amid much giggling and chuckling, Bankotsu removed the lacey black bra. He was a bit disappointed when Jakotsu got up to carefully pack his breast prostheses away, but he understood the need to. "Where were we?" he said huskily now that Jakotsu was once again straddling his hips. 

"Here…" the cross-dresser murmured, pulling him close. 

Things went smoothly, and Jakotsu was just about to get to his feet and get his futon out when he noticed a slight frown on his lover's face. "Is something wrong?" he said softly.

"No," Bankotsu said, resting his head against the cross-dresser's abdomen. 

"You sure?"

"Yeah." The younger man reached up under his lover's skirt to caress his bottom.

"The why are you frowning?" Jakotsu said as he tried to keep the annoyance he felt at little voice saying "I told you so!" and Bankotsu's refusal to do anything about the cross-dresser's growing erection out of his voice. 

"I'm not frowning." Bankotsu helped the cross-dresser out of his skirt and panties.

"Yes, you are." Jakotsu was once again on his knees, straddling his lover's lap.

"I am not. Stop being so silly, Sweetness." The younger man looked up at his lover. He snaked his arms around Jakotsu's waist, pulling him close.

Jakotsu shrugged. He tried but he could not enjoy their love play like he normally did. Everything Bankotsu did combined with the little nagging voice in his head made the cross-dresser feel as though his lover really wanted to be with a woman. Finally he could not take it any more and, getting up, Jakotsu walked over to his closet. He opened it and pulled out a bright yellow yukata and threw it on over the garter belt and stockings he wore. 

"You okay, Sweetness?" Bankotsu asked. He stood up and walked over to him and put his arms around his lover from behind, resting his head on Jakotsu's back.

Pulling away from him, Jakotsu said, "No!"

"What's wrong?" Bankotsu asked. He was thoroughly puzzled by the cross-dresser's behavior. 

"I'm not a woman, Ban, and I never will be," Jakotsu said tersely.

"I know that."

"Really? Well you sure could have fooled me!"

"What!"

"You heard me, Bankotsu. I'm not a woman! I'm a man! A man who likes dressing up like a woman and who is attracted to bisexual men. Although, I think in this instance, you're not as bi as you like to think you are."

Bankotsu sputtered wordlessly. He felt hurt by the cross-dresser's accusation because he loved Jakotsu and hoped to build a life together with him. 

"Now get dressed and get out!"

Shaking his head sadly, Bankotsu pulled away from his lover and silently picked up his shirt and put it on. When he finished buttoning it, he walked back over to Jakotsu, who had refused to look at him, and hugged him from behind. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said softly as he left the room.

Jakotsu bit his lip and blinked back his tears. He could hear his lover leaving and he walked over to the window and watched him go. _Damn it! Don't go, Ban! I'm sorry!_

888

"Yes, you're an idiot and yes, you overreacted," Suikotsu said. "But don't you think you may have panicked over nothing?" He picked up a piece of tuna sashimi and dipped it briefly in soy sauce, before popping it in his mouth.

Jakotsu nodded as he toyed with a piece of his cucumber roll. 

Suikotsu swallowed. "Ban's not Naraku, Jak. Just give him a call him and apologize. Excuse me," the pediatrician said when he felt his cell phone vibrate against his hip. He pulled it from its holster and answered it. "Yes?"

"_Sui, it's Ban. I need your help. We had a fight last night and I was wondering if you knew the perfect thing to let Jak know just how sorry I am."_

"Hold on." Suikotsu looked over at his friend apologetically. "Jak, I've got a problem with a patient, I need a minute to straighten this out."

"Go ahead." The cross-dresser waved his hand. "Do you want me to get the check?"

"I'd like to finish and have dessert. This shouldn't take long." Suikotsu got up and headed outside to take the call. "I'm sorry, Ban, I was having lunch with Jak. He's just as upset about this as you are."

"_Yeah? He seemed pretty pissed last night."_

"Yes, he told me. I'm sure I don't have to explain how Naraku left him for my ex-wife."

"_I know. That's why I feel so badly about this. I don't know what I did to screw things up, but I want to fix them. I've spent the day trying to figure out if I should call and ask him out to dinner tonight."_

"I wouldn't do that, Ban. Call him and apologize, and tell him you want to see him again, but let him tell you when. In the meantime, I'd call a florist and send some hydrangeas to his dressing room. He's not working today, but he will be there tomorrow as they have a final rehearsal before taping."

"_Thanks, Sui!"_

"Don't mention it. Just realize you're in the unenviable position of being the first person he's been serious about since Naraku and that he wants to fall for you so badly it hurts, but he's afraid."

"_Gotchya! Bye!"_ Bankotsu ended the call.

"Bye…" Suikotsu hung up and returned to his seat inside the restaurant.

"Everything alright, Sui?"

"I hope so, Jak."

888

After trying unsuccessfully to reach his boyfriend yesterday, Jakotsu went to work feeling a bit down. He plastered a smile on his face and greeted everyone like everything was fine as he headed towards his dressing room. Opening the door, his mouth hung open in surprise at the sight that greeted him. Inside, in various arrangements, were bouquets of hydrangeas ranging in color from pale yellowy green to pink to magenta to purple to blue. It was as if whoever had sent them had no idea which color he liked the best. Jakotsu walked over to the nearest arrangement and looked at the card attached to it.

"_I'm sorry I upset you, Sweetness._

"_I miss you and I want to make it up to you._

"_Love, your dumpling"_

The cross-dresser smiled. _Patient my ass, Sui! You put him up to this._ Jakotsu looked at some of the other cards that hung from the different arrangements. All of them had variations of first one's apology. _So that's why your phone was off the hook and your cell turned off. If I wasn't so happy to find out you weren't mad at me, I'd kill you for making me worry. _

For the first time that morning Jakotsu was glad he was scheduled to rehearse his scenes first. When the rehearsal flew by in what felt like an instant, the cross-dresser was on his way over to the recording studio after making arrangements for his favorite bouquet to be sent home.

888

Later that evening, they were sitting on Jakotsu's futon in the shadowy darkness of his living room. Leaning forward, the cross-dresser rested his forehead on Bankotsu's and gently cupped his cheeks. "If it makes you happy pretending I'm a woman, I'm okay with it," he said softly.

Bankotsu placed his hand over his boyfriend's hand, pulling it away from his face and, giving it a slight squeeze. "How many times do I have to tell you, if I wanted to be with a woman, I wouldn't be here with you," he replied just as softly.

"I don't know…" Jakotsu teased.

"Maybe I need to show you instead of telling you."

"Yes."

They kissed.

Breaking the kiss, Bankotsu let go of his lover's hand and lightly caressed his thigh. "Does this help?"

"Yes."

They kissed again, this time more deeply.

Breaking the kiss again, Bankotsu eased Jakotsu onto his back. "And this?" he said, before trailing a line of butterfly kisses down the cross-dresser's throat.

"Yes."

Bankotsu opened Jakotsu's kimono, continuing his line of little kisses down the cross-dresser's torso.

"Yes…"

The younger man made his way down past the cross-dresser's navel, pausing every so often to ask him if he believed him.

"Yes," Jakotsu would reply.

Bankotsu had asked one last time, before engulfing Jakotsu's growing erection in his mouth. The warm wet heat of his mouth made the cross-dresser moan softly while little tingles of pleasure spread throughout his belly. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing to no avail. Jakotsu's panting soon synced up with his lover's head bobbing. 

"Yes…" the cross-dresser said breathlessly.

As his lover continued his ministrations, Jakotsu grew harder and harder. He squirmed, fighting to keep himself under control. It felt so good that he wanted the moment to last as long as it could. "Yes," he whispered. Licking his lips, the cross-dresser grabbed the futon as he tried to keep himself from arching upwards into the younger man's mouth. 

Bankotsu playfully flicked his tongue across the tip of Jakotsu's penis. It twitched in his mouth and he briefly paused so as not to bite Jakotsu unintentionally. He flicked the sensitive tip again, savoring the salty taste of his lover. Bankotsu went down on him again, coming back up slowly, dragging his tongue up the length of Jakotsu's penis. Bankotsu loved the way the cross-dresser tensed and pulled the edges of the futon when Bankotsu brushed against the tender area just north of his opening. Looking up at Jakotsu, he shifted his rhythm in time with the rise and fall of the cross-dresser's chest. The faster the cross-dresser panted, the faster Bankotsu would bob his head. When Jakotsu accidentally kicked him in the shoulder, Bankotsu knew it would not belong before the cross-dresser climaxed.

Jakotsu tensed as the waves of pleasure washed over him. If he had any doubts about his boyfriend's sexuality before, they all went flying out of his head as Bankotsu brought him closer and closer to his release. Every time his lover touched him, whether it was with his tongue or his fingers, Jakotsu felt his senses shattering. This was so much better than he had imagined it would be and he was sorry he had ever doubted Bankotsu. When his lover reached up to caress his thigh, Jakotsu knew he had reached the point where he could hold back no longer and he let out a strangled cry of pleasure.

"Yes, yes, YES!"

_**Author's end note: Next up is "Z" is for Zealous**_


	26. Z is for Zealous

**Alphabet Soup**

By kira

_Author's note: The following is a series of Jakotsu-centric challenge fics written from a list my dear friend and writing partner, Vega-chan, came up with for me. It's__ based on Killa Kay's awesome collection of Gravitation short stories called "A to Z." (You can find them in my favorite stories section) Due to the nature of the word given, they can either be what I call "canon timeline" which is set before their first deaths or AU which is set in modern times and will be set in the "world" I created in my story, "Homecoming."_

_**Thanks go out to notoes for betaing the entire series for me! glomps you**_

_**In case you're wondering... I don't own them; Takahashi-sensei does!**_

Miriam Webster Online defines "zealous" as:

Filled with or characterized by zeal:marked by fervent partisanship for a person, a cause, or an ideal _zealous_ missionaries

— zeal·ous·ly_adverb_

— zeal·ous·ness_noun_

_FYI: Youkai and oni are demons of varying power._

"**Z" is for Zealous**

888

Jakotsu lay on his side in the futon, watching his lover sleep. Out of all the men he had ever been with, Bankotsu was the one he completely gave himself to; mind, body, and soul. There was nothing he would not do for the younger boy. If Bankotsu told him to "march his ass into hell and back," Jakotsu knew he would be halfway there before his friend and lover could get the words out. 

That was why the cross-dresser had agreed to let Bankotsu teach him how to use a sword and hunt youkai down. It may have had its scary moments but with Bankotsu at his side, Jakotsu felt brave and he came to enjoy the touch of fear. From youkai, it was a simple matter to become mercenaries and hire themselves out to various armies. That was something the cross-dresser found he enjoyed even more than youkai hunting. The scent of blood, the cries of anguish, and the pretty soldiers he was able to safely toy with before cutting them up, fed some primal need in the cross-dresser's psyche. The only thing that spoiled it was Bankotsu's growing disgust at taking orders. 

So Jakotsu spent the quiet hours just before dawn, thinking it over, and trying hard to come up with some plan to ease his friend and lover's dissatisfaction that would not sound stupid. Bankotsu had recently confided in him a desire to be "his own man" and the cross-dresser was determined to help him achieve that goal. The only trouble was that whatever Jakotsu would suggest, Bankotsu would usually find a way to gently explain how bad a plan it was. 

_Aniki-chan, why can't you see what a good leader you are? That any man would be a fool not to follow you... _Jakotsu reached out and gently stoked the younger boy's cheek with the back of his forefinger. _We could have been killed the other day if not for your quick thinking. Damn you were good! You really showed that asshole general! It makes me hard just thinking about it._ The cross-dresser sighed at the memory. He traced his finger over the contours of his lover's lips, wishing he'd wake up, so that he could kiss him and coax him into having a bit of fun in the futon.

As Jakotsu brushed Bankotsu's hair out of his eyes, the younger boy stirred in his sleep. The cross-dresser froze, his fingers gently poised on his lover's temple. 

Before the cross-dresser could pull his hand away, Bankotsu grabbed his wrist, startling him. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing..." Jakotsu tittered nervously. "Damn it, Aniki-chan, you scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry." Bankotsu opened his eyes and let go of his lover's wrist. 

"It's okay." Jakotsu smiled. "I'm not mad."

"I didn't think you were." The younger boy chuckled and his lover giggled. Growing more serious, Bankotsu rolled over onto his back and said, "I guess we should get up and go look for some more work."

"Oh... I was hoping we could stay here and have some fun. Aniki-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Why can't work come looking for us?"

"Because we have to go looking for it, Sweetness."

"Oh." The cross-dresser thought it over. "Aniki-chan? You're a good leader, so why can't they see that and come asking for you?"

"Yeah?" Bankotsu grinned. "Well, for one thing we move around too much, and for another you think that asshole's going to let it be known that I'm better at his job than he is?"

"Oh..." Jakotsu frowned. 

Bankotsu rolled over and kissed him. "Don't worry about it, maybe the next job'll give us enough to settle down in one place and we won't have to worry about working any more."

"That would be nice." Jakotsu smiled and kissed him back. 

Breaking the kiss, Bankotsu said, "Let's forget work; I feel like having some fun instead."

"Me too!"

888

Their next job involved hunting down some youkai that had been terrorizing a small village. It was not as much fun as fighting an opposing army since it was hard, smelly work that required patience, which was something Jakotsu found boring because youkai and oni tended to be as ugly as they were stupid. Unfortunately, this one proved to be more cunning than they thought. 

They fought long and hard, neither side giving quarter to the other. 

Jakotsu was rapidly tiring and in desperation he whipped his sword out, the blades of the Jakotsutou wrapping around the demon like a lover's embrace. Unfortunately he lacked the strength to pull hard enough to kill it. Still, it proved to be enough of a distraction that Bankotsu was able to come down with his Banryuu, neatly severing the youkai's head. Jakotsu, startled by the unexpected reprieve, stepped back, pulling his sword with him and, slicing the demon to bits. Pieces of it flew everywhere. 

"We did it!" Bankotsu laughed and stuck his halberd point first into the ground.

"Yeah!" Jakotsu agreed. "You were amazing, Aniki-chan!" He dropped his sword and hugged the younger boy.

"Yeah?" Bankotsu said, patting Jakotsu on the back as they held each other close.

"Yup!" The cross-dresser giggled. "Except you look and smell like shit. Hehehe..."

Bankotsu took a step back and, holding Jakotsu by the shoulders, he said, "So do you!" He laughed.

They were both covered in grime from the youkai they had just destroyed. 

"Hmmm..." Jakotsu thought it over. "Maybe we should take a bath and get some clean clothes."

Bankotsu nodded. "Yeah, but where are we going to get them?"

"We could ask the people who paid us for new clothes," the cross-dresser pointed out as they retrieved their weapons.

The younger boy looked up at his taller partner in surprise as a grin slowly spread across his face. "Good thinking, Jakotsu!"

"Yeah?" The cross-dresser blinked in surprise. 

"Uh-hunh! I never would have thought of that. So let's go!" Bankotsu threw a grimy arm around the cross-dresser's shoulders, or would have if he were taller, so he settled for resting his hand on Jakotsu's shoulder instead. 

"Okay! So I said something smart, hunh?" The cross-dresser giggled.

"Yup!"

Jakotsu smiled happily. "Aniki-chan?"

"What?" Bankotsu said as they headed back to village headmaster to see about a change of clothing and a bath.

"I think one day you're going to be the most powerful man in all Japan."

"Heh!"

"No, I'm serious, Aniki-chan. You're very brave; you're smart and powerful too. Anyone would be a fool not to stand by your side," Jakotsu said earnestly.

"Yeah?"

The cross-dresser nodded.

"I like the sound of that, Jakotsu."

"Me too!"

888

Bankotsu took one last look at the dead youkai he had been hunting. He had been annoyed to discover another youkai had killed it before him and he idly wondered if he should take credit for the kill and collect the reward when his friend and partner Jakotsu found him.

After expressing his disappointment in missing all the fun and, making sure Bankotsu was alright, Jakotsu asked what they should do now.

"Okay, Jakotsu, let's go to war!" Bankotsu grinned wickedly only to have the cross-dresser stare at him blankly.

"I thought you were tired of people telling you what to do and that's why we've gone back to hunting youkai."

"Well, uh, yeah..." Bankotsu said, looking somewhat crestfallen.

"Oh, so are we going to war with just the two of us?" Jakotsu asked. He scratched his cheek while he waited for Bankotsu's answer.

"No. I thought we could get some men together. Didn't you say awhile back that anyone would be a fool not to follow me?"

The cross-dresser frowned. "I did?"

"Yeah."

"Okay! Can we get some cute looking men?" Jakotsu grinned wickedly.

"Ummm, don't you think men with fighting skills would be better than cute ones?"

"Yeah... but I was hoping I could cut them up when we're done," Jakotsu said as if that was a perfectly reasonable thing to do and Bankotsu was hard pressed to suppress a chuckle.

"If you do that, then we'd have to keep getting new ones all the time."

"Oh yeah..." Jakotsu laughed. "I'm being stupid again, hunh?"

"Nah, just cute. So I figured we should start looking as soon as we reach the next town."

"Sounds like a good plan to me, Aniki-chan!" the cross-dresser said zealously.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Bankotsu laughed

"Aniki-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"What if we find a man with good fighting skills that's cute?" Jakotsu asked as they walked along. 

"I hadn't thought about that, but ummm..." Bankotsu fell silent while he thought it over. "What if I let you cut them up if they don't work out?"

"Okay!"

888

Jakotsu leaned towards his lover and said, "Let's have some fun with the new recruit, Aniki-chan!"

"Which one, Sweetness? We have two new recruits," Bankotsu replied.

"Oh yeah!" the cross-dresser said. 

As the young leader of the Shichinintai and his paramour had been walking ahead of the others, they both looked back over their shoulders at the three men trailing along behind them and laughed.

"How about the monk?" Jakotsu said saucily.

"Okay."

Renkotsu groaned inwardly as he plastered a smile on his face. He had been trying his best to ignore the cross-dresser but he was fast approaching the limits of his patience. He knew Jakotsu was testing him according to the claw-bearer, just like their leader was, but enough was enough and he longed to punch the smirk off feminine man's face. He also found himself wishing he could rip their leader's left arm off because he was getting tired of seeing it reaching over to fondle the cross-dresser's bottom. 

Just when it felt like he would explode and ruin his chances of becoming a member of Bankotsu's band of mercenaries, a reprieve of sorts happened unexpectedly. Somehow the conversation had turned to whether or not the fire-breather was a "man" yet. Jakotsu had just uttered a catty "too bad the fire-breather had wasted himself on a woman," when Renkotsu quipped in reply that he was happy he had not wasted himself on the cross-dresser. A few moments of extremely tense silence followed before Jakotsu had a hissy fit. Unfortunately, while it calmed the cross-dresser down for the moment, he later came back with a vengeance, only to later on that night cut his over zealousness towards Renkotsu off with a "now that I've groped your mouth with my tongue, I'm going to ignore you."

888

"Jak, don't you think you're a little over zealous in your support of Oo-Aniki?" Renkotsu said. He had been sent on a mission alone with the cross-dresser and he was getting very tired of hearing about how wonderful their leader was. The closer they were to home, the more he wished the cross-dresser would shut up as he had the feeling Jakotsu was leading up to a litany of Bankotsu's skills in the futon, something he would rather not hear about. 

"Over what?" Jakotsu stared blankly at the fire-breather.

"Over zealous, you know, very enthusiastic about him."

"Hunh?"

Renkotsu sighed. "Filled with so much love for Oo-Aniki that you don't notice his faults," he patiently explained. 

"Oh..." Jakotsu giggled. 

"So let's ummm, agree to say that Oo-Aniki is the best at everything, okay?"

"Okay!" the cross-dresser said and Renkotsu breathed a silent sigh of relief that the subject of Bankotsu had been dropped, although, a part of him grudgingly agreed with everything the cross-dresser had said.

888

They were sitting around the campfire, discussing their upcoming mission. Bankotsu looked across the flickering flames at his comrades in arms and grinned. They may have been the motliest looking band of mercenaries around, but they were good, in fact very good. So good, that when the cross-dresser asked if they would finally have enough money to settle down somewhere, the others ran with the possibilities.

"I think you may be on to something, Jak," Renkotsu said and there was no mistaking the look of approval he wore. 

"Yeah?" The cross-dresser blinked.

"Yup! So, Oo-Aniki, are you going to demand we get the mansion as part of our payment?"

"Hunh? No..." Bankotsu frowned.

"Why not? If you're going to be the most powerful man in all of Japan, like Jak is so found of telling us you're going to be, then you should look the part. A mansion is just the thing you need." Renkotsu grinned. 

"But, uh..."

"But nothing, Aniki-chan! Ren's right; we should have mansion to live in! All the powerful daimyo have one!" Jakotsu said excitedly. 

The others agreed. 

"But I already agreed to a price for this mission," Bankotsu said helplessly. Jakotsu's zealousness towards him was something the young leader of the Shichinintai was used to; it quite another thing to have them all behaving that way. "Alright..."

888

Betrayed... It was an ugly word, but it summed up the situation nicely. The very men who had hired them had turned on them without a moment's hesitation. 

_At least Ren is now so busy running for his life that he doesn't have time to complain, _Bankotsu noted wryly as he hurried along with his friends. _Damn it, why did your zealousness have to be so damned infectious, Sweetness? Why did I stupidly think demanding the mansion was a good idea?_ He groaned inwardly. "Hurry, Jakotsu, we're almost there!" Bankotsu reached back and pulled his lover along.

"I am!" the cross-dresser panted. 

_Damn it! This isn't good at all! The snow's starting to fall again! I hope we don't get trapped up here cuz it isn't gonna be pretty if we do!_ the young leader of the Shichinintai thought worriedly as they raced towards the mountain pass.

Arrows whizzed past them as they ran for their lives. Too late, Bankotsu realized they were being herded towards their eventual capture. Backs against the sharp craggy mountain, they turned and faced the men who had hired them. The young leader of the Shichinintai eyed his men proudly. They may have reached their final stand, but Bankotsu had the feeling they were going to be a credit to him and go down fighting. 

A quick movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and Bankotsu turned in that direction. He was greeted by his paramour's warm smile. 

"We can do this, Aniki-chan! You'll see!" Jakotsu said confidently.

Bankotsu nodded, his smile quickly turning into a frown, for Kyokotsu rushed forward. "No! Kyo!" Bankotsu looked back at the cross-dresser for answers.

"Kyo'll get us out of here and then you'll make them pay for this!" 

"We're outnumbered, Sweetness! There's no way we can get out of here alive. Damn it!"

"Then we will die fighting for you. Remember I told you, Aniki-chan, that anyone would be a fool not to follow you? Well, we've decided to follow you into hell," Jakotsu said zealously.

They watched while Kyokotsu plucked a lone archer from his horse. Bankotsu was horrified when the archer took advantage of the situation and fired off an arrow, hitting the giant right between the eyes. Kyokotsu wore a look of surprise as he let go of the man and staggered backwards. Seconds later he slumped to the ground, dead.

"No..." Bankotsu moaned. He turned to look at Jakotsu in time to see the cross-dresser send Mukotsu out. For the first time in this fiasco, Bankotsu felt a ray of hope that maybe they could get out of here alive. The diminutive poisoner knelt and opened one of his canisters, pointing it at the combined armies of the daimyo that had banded together to get rid of the Shichinintai. The poisonous fog spread out like the smoke from one of Renkotsu's fires, its causticity designed to sear an enemy's lungs. When the fog lifted, Mukotsu was confronted by a group of taijiya who easily captured him. 

The nightmare repeated itself as each remaining member of his army zealously strode forward and tried to take out as many as they could, before being captured. When Jakotsu was captured something seemed to die inside Bankotsu and the seventeen year old gave up without a fight. It was one thing to realize that even in the face of death his friends still maintained their zealous faith in him; it was another to come face to face with a zealousness that far outweighed their own...

888

_**Author's end note: Unfortunately, I've run out of letters. That being said, I would like to thank the following: Killa Kay, for inspiring me to do this with her fic. Vega-chan, for being the great friend that she is, and for providing me with a list of challenges, some easy, some hard. I would also like to thank her for her help here and there. Notoes, another dear friend, for taking the time to beta this for me. Jen, for her help here and there behind the scenes, most notably her help in making sure Ban got the most enjoyment he could get out his time with Jak in Yes! Chocolatemaltesers for her many reviews over at And last but certainly not least, Ranuel for her insightful reviews there too, which really made my day! I would also like to thank in advance, those of you who took the time to read this now that all the chapters are finished and posted and were kind enough to let me know how much you enjoyed it!**_


End file.
